FACTS & STATS: Site: Notre Dame Stadium (80,795) -- South Bend, Indiana. Television: NBC. Home Record: Duke 0-5, Notre Dame 0-6. Away Record: Duke 1-4, Notre Dame 1-3. Neutral Record: Duke 0-0, Notre Dame 0-0. Conference Record: Duke 0-7, Notre Dame 0-0. Series Record: Notre Dame leads, 2-1.

GAME NOTES: Mired in their worst season in decades, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish play their final home game against the Duke Blue Devils. Both teams are reeling through 1-9 seasons and are searching desperately for something positive to build on. Duke enters the tilt on the heels of last weekend's 41-24 loss to Georgia Tech. Statistically, the Blue Devils rank among the worst teams in the nation in terms of total offense and total defense. Duke's lone win this season came on the road, and the Blue Devils follow up this week's bout with another road game at North Carolina next week. Notre Dame's 41-24 loss to Air Force last weekend was the team's school-record sixth straight home loss. The Irish need a win this week to avoid going winless at home in a season for the first time since 1933, and only the third time in the school's long history. Notre Dame's nine losses this season are the most in school history. In terms of the head-to-head series, the Irish hold a slim 2-1 edge over the Blue Devils.

Simply stated; Duke's offense isn't striking a whole lot of fear into opposing defenses these days. Not with the Blue Devils ranking 116th out of 119 FBS teams in total offense. Duke's 52.9 rushing yards per game ranks dead-last in the nation, as the Blue Devils are only scoring 19.4 ppg. Last week's loss to Georgia Tech was especially tough for Duke fans to stomach, considering the Blue Devils finished the game with just nine first downs and 146 yards of total offense. Their ground game was held to 24 yards in 28 carries, actually losing yards on the day. Though he has been inconsistent throughout the season, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis remains the most dangerous player on the Duke offense. He is averaging 209 ypg through the air and has thrown 19 touchdowns on the season.

The Duke defense is giving up yards in bunches, and subsequently, they are yielding a ton of points, as well. The Blue Devils' average of 443 total yards per game allowed ranks last in the ACC, as does their 35 ppg allowed. Opposing quarterbacks have had all day to find open receivers against a Duke pass defense that ranks 100th in the nation, allowing 266 ypg. But last week it was the ground game that killed the Blue Devils, as Georgia Tech tailback Tashard Choice ran for 170 yards and two scores, pacing a Yellow Jacket rushing attack that churned out 259 yards and three touchdowns on the day. Sophomore linebacker Vincent Rey has been one of the few bright spots on the defense this season, leading the team with 97 tackles.

While the Irish suffered yet another loss last weekend, one thing the team can build on is certainly the play of young quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who came on late to put together one of his best games as a freshman. In the second half, Clausen was 17-of-29 for 192 yards and two scores. Head coach Charlie Weis sang high praise of his young signal-caller following the game. Still, the Notre Dame offense was largely one-dimensional, with the running game netting only 58 yards on 38 carries. That factored into the Irish not being able to sustain drives, as they went just 4-of-15 on third downs and yielded a 10-minute advantage in time of possession. Notre Dame possesses the worst-ranked total offense in the nation, averaging just 218 ypg.

The Notre Dame pass defense ranks fifth in the nation, allowing just 164 ypg. That stat, however, is misleading in that Notre Dame is allowing a robust 208 ypg on the ground, and opponents often ditch the passing game after building up a comfortable lead against the Irish. After all, Notre Dame has allowed 32 ppg on the season. Last weekend, Air Force racked up 285 yards on the ground. The Falcons ran the ball 63 times, and dropped back to pass only 16 times. In other words, teams prefer to go the safe route against Notre Dame and not risk turning the ball over with interceptions. It just so happens the "safe route" is also the most effective way to handle the Irish.

If there is one thing the Irish have stacked in their favor in this bout, it's that Duke cannot run the football with any consistency. Look for Clausen to build on his big day in the second half of last week's game, and steer the Irish to their first home win of the season.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Notre Dame 34, Duke 21

Saturday, November 17th, 2:30 p.m. (et)