Both touchdown passes came after fumbles by Duke (1-10). Clausen first connected with a diving David Grimes with 1:17 left in the first half and threw to Duval Kamara with 4 seconds left. He also had a 9-yard TD pass to John Carlson in the fourth quarter.

The Irish (2-9) will avoid becoming the third team in school history to finish a season with just two wins if they beat Stanford next Saturday. In addition to ending a four-game losing streak, the Irish won at home for the first time since beating Army 41-9 in last season's finale.

Duke, playing on national TV for the first time since 1996, lost its eighth straight. It has just two wins against Bowl Subdivision teams the past four seasons: against Northwestern earlier this season and against Clemson in 2004.

Robert Hughes added a 13-yard touchdown run for the Irish, rushing for a season-high 110 yards on 17 carries. Notre Dame, which entered the game with the second-worst rushing average in the nation at 56.6 yards a game, rushed for more than 100 yards for just the third time this season and finished with 220 yards on 48 carries.

Clausen was 16-for-32 for 194 yards and had had his second straight three-touchdown game.