Preview and Prediction: Clemson at Notre Dame
Top-ranked Clemson will seek its highest-ranked road win in school history on Saturday, Nov. 7, when the No. 1 Tigers face the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on NBC. Kickoff at Notre Dame Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The game will be played 39 years to the date following the first time two ACC teams faced one another while ranked in the AP Top 10. That first intra-conference Top 10 matchup in ACC annals took place on Nov. 7, 1981, when No. 2 Clemson traveled to Chapel Hill to face No. 8 North Carolina. Clemson defensive end Jeff Bryant jumped on a lateral that many assumed to be an incomplete pass, clinching a 10-8 Clemson victory that led the Greenville News to proclaim, "Clemson is 10-8cious."
Now, in Notre Dame's lone year of ACC football membership, the Tigers and Irish will be able to lay claim to having participated in the highest-ranked matchup of two ACC squads in conference history when Notre Dame faces top-ranked Clemson this Saturday. Previously, the highest combined ranking for a game between two ACC teams was eight, set five times including most recently on Oct. 10 in No. 1 Clemson's win against No. 7 Miami (Fla).
The ACC's newest member will have the opportunity to face the conference's all-time leading rusher on Saturday. Last week, Clemson running back Travis Etienne earned that crown from NC State's Ted Brown, whose conference record of 4,602 rushing yards had stood since 1978. The ACC's most prolific running back is also becoming one of the game's most complete. Last week, he broke his own Clemson running back record with 140 receiving yards against Boston College, and he became only the 12th player in FBS history with 4,000 career rushing yards and 1,000 career receiving yards.
Saturday's game was expected to feature the two winningest quarterbacks by percentage among FBS quarterbacks with at least 20 career wins in Clemson's Trevor Lawrence (31-1, 96.9 percent) and Notre Dame's Ian Book (26-3, 89.7). However, Dabo Swinney announced Saturday that Lawrence is not expected to play after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.
In Lawrence's stead last week was true freshman D.J. Uiagalelei, who produced one of the most sterling debut performances by a starting quarterback in school history. Uiagalelei’s 342 passing yards amidst his 30-for-41 passing day were the third-most by a Clemson freshman (true or redshirt) in his starting debut, trailing Deshaun Watson’s 435 yards against North Carolina in 2014 and Charlie Whitehurst’s 420 yards against Duke in 2002
What to Watch For:
- Head Coach Dabo Swinney attempting to improve to 3-0 against Notre Dame. He would become only the fifth coach to win his first three games against Notre Dame, joining Amos Alonzo Stagg, Ara Parseghian, Jimmy Johnson and Nick Saban. The first three are College Football Hall of Famers, while Saban is still active and is seeking his 250th career win next week.
- Swinney coaching his 100th regular season ACC game. He is 83-16 (.838) in ACC regular season play, the highest winning percentage among qualified coaches in conference history.
- Clemson seeking its 15th consecutive victory in true road games, which would extend its current school record and the nation's longest active streak.
- Clemson, holders of the nation's longest active home winning streak (27), attempting to end the nation's second-longest active home winning streak (Notre Dame, 22).
- Clemson attempting to win a 29th consecutive game against an ACC opponent, including postseason play. A 29-game winning streak against conference opponents would tie Clemson with the 1992-95 Florida State Seminoles for the longest streak in ACC history.
- Clemson entering Saturday having won 36 consecutive regular season games, the longest such streak in ACC annals. Clemson's last regular season loss came in October 2017 at Syracuse. A 37th consecutive regular season win would tie the 1992-96 Nebraska Cornhuskers for the third-longest streak in the AP Poll era.
- Clemson attempting to win a 40th consecutive non-bowl game, which would pass the 2000-03 Miami Hurricanes for sole possession of the second-longest streak in the AP Poll era. Clemson has won 39 straight non-bowl games, including 36 regular season games and three conference championship games
Preview:
This will be the fifth game all-time between Clemson and Notre Dame. The visiting team won the first two games by six points or less, with Notre Dame winning at Clemson by a 21-17 score in 1977, and Clemson earning a victory at Notre Dame by a 16-10 score in 1979.
Predictions:
Zach Lentz: Clemson: 31 Notre Dame 27
This goes down as another instant-classic, similar to the 2015 game between the two schools. The Tiger offense continues to be red-hot, even minus Trevor Lawrence, and the defense makes just enough stops and the Tigers solidify themselves as the clear No. 1 team in the nation. Needless to say, the Irish will once again feel lugubrious after playing the Tigers.
Brad Senkiw: Clemson 27, Notre Dame 20
Both teams kind of have the same game plan: Find some efficiency in the run game on offense and force the opponent into as many third-and-longs as possible on defense. Which team does those two things the best could very well decide the game. Overall, though, Clemson still has more playmakers and team speed. And while the offense won't be as explosive without Lawrence and the defense is missing some key pieces, the Tigers are still the better, more well-coached team.
Jason Priester: Clemson: 28 Notre Dame: 20
This Notre Dame offense starts and stops with the running game. While it may be difficult to fully shut down, Brent Venables is the best defensive coordinator in the country and he will have a plan to slow down the ground game of the Irish and make Ian Book beat them with his arm, something the Notre Dame QB just can't do. Uiagalelei and the offense get it done against a pretty good Irish defense.
Christopher Hall: Clemson: 27 Notre Dame: 16
Dabo Swinney has built a program that is made for moments like these and more times than not the Tigers have risen to the occasion. Despite being without Trevor Lawrence, James Skalski, Tyler Davis and Mike Jones Jr. I think the Tigers get it done on the road behind a stellar defensive performance. Low scoring affair but D.J. Uiagalelei proves his debut was no fluke in his first road start.
Travis Boland: Clemson 24, Notre Dame 18
Since 2000, Notre Dame is 1-18 against Top 5 opponents. Head coach Brian Kelly is 0-5 against the Top 5 during his tenure including a loss to Georgia last season. I think the key to the game will be how the Clemson secondary matches up with Notre Dame's receivers and tight ends. They had some experience against physical receivers against Miami and that night ended with three interceptions. I also expect Clemson to use freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei more in the run game. If the RPOs can soften up the Fighting Irish back seven, DJU could have a big day throwing the football.
