Audric Estime: Notre Dame to 'come out on fire' against Duke

One moment, Notre Dame was on top of the world, about to get a win against Ohio State. The next — pure heartbreak as Chip Trayanum dove into the end zone with one second remaining. Not the easiest thing to bounce back from but the Fighting Irish have to mentally move on quickly.

Notre Dame will travel to Durham, facing off against a ranked Duke team. Most of college football will have their eyes on Durham, potentially being the biggest weekend in the history of the Duke program. ESPN College GameDay will be in town and the Blue Devils can start 5-0 for the first time since 1994.

Playing in big games is nothing new for Notre Dame. Everybody comes out ready to go against them. Replicating the mindset will be the key on Saturday against Duke.

“We’re Notre Dame, every game for us is a big game,” Notre Dame running back Audric Estime said during Tuesday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “It’s definitely a big game for them. We know they’re going to come out with all they got. But so are we.

“We’re going to come out on fire.”

A lot of energy was spent on attempting to beat Ohio State. South Bend was buzzing for the entire week and you could sense defeat among Notre Dame following the game. It was an emotional battle for four quarters, just ask Ryan Day again in his postgame press conference.

Some pent-up frustration after the loss may be there. After all, every player and coach at Notre Dame is human. Wanting to correct the wrong following a loss is naturally going to occur to any football team.

But Estime says the Fighting Irish are just looking to prove they are capable of being in the discussion for the best team in college football. In their eyes, Duke drew the short end of the stick and is going to be on the other end of it.

“We’re not saying we’re taking what happened against Ohio State out of them but this is the game after,” Estime said. “We just got to keep on showing and proving why we’re one of the top teams in the country. This is an opponent that’s going to have to face it.”

Kickoff in Durham is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and Notre Dame is going to be ready to go. Usually, a ranked opponent is not your ‘Get right’ game. However, there is a unique opportunity ahead for Estime and his teammates by getting a statement win after a heart breaking loss.