DURHAM – Another first half to forget and another inspirational second half on this stage.

Duke was just one stop short of scoring another win over a national program.

Notre Dame’s Audric Estimé scored the game-winning touchdown with 31 seconds left in the 11th-ranked Irish’s 21-14 win over No. 17 Duke on Saturday night at Wallace Wade Stadium.

The game-deciding score came two plays after quarterback Sam Hartman scrambled for 17 yards on fourth-and-16.

Duke (4-1) got the ball back with 31 seconds left but disaster struck on the second play. That’s when Riley Leonard was sacked, lost a fumble, and had his right leg buckle and get rolled up as he went down. He was carried off of the field by teammates Jalon Calhoun and Justin Pickett.

Duke took a one-point lead on Leonard’s 3-yard pass to a wide-open Jordan Moore on third-and-goal. That made it 14-13 with 9:17 left.

Leonard’s pooch punt put Notre Dame (5-1) at its 5-yard line with 2:35 left. The Irish went 95 yards on 10 plays to win the game.

Duke struggled to move the ball in the first half and gave up several chunk plays through the air, so the halftime deficit of 10-0 felt a little fortunate.

Considering Todd Pelino missed two field goals in the first half, from 37 and 25 yards, the other side of the coin was feeling like the Blue Devils missed opportunities.

Jordan Waters punched in a 1-yard touchdown for Duke’s first points with 3:36 left in the third quarter. He both powered and backed into the end zone, barely crossing the goal line.

The Blue Devils found their rushing game halfway through the third quarter, around the same time that the QB draws and zone-reads became more prevalent.

Duke got Notre Dame into fourth down on the first drive of the game, but the Irish ran a fake punt on which Jeremiyah Love gained 34 yards. The Irish scored two plays later on Estimé’s 6-yard run through a few arm-tackle attempts.

Things got worse on Duke’s first drive. It started well enough, with a 27-yard pass to Jordan Moore on the first play, but ended with Pelino’s missed field goal from 37 yards.

Riley Leonard’s first interception of the season came on the second play of Duke’s second possession. That put the Irish at the Blue Devils’ 13-yard line at the end of the first quarter, and Spencer Shrader made a 35-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter.

The score held steady through two more missed field goals in the second quarter, one by each team.

Left tackle Graham Barton, a projected first-round pick, did not play. He’s started every game at left tackle and played just about every significant snap there since the start of the 2021 season.