Stacking Up: Notre Dame Offense vs Clemson

Breaking down how the Notre Dame offense stacks up on paper against the Clemson defense

Notre Dame and Clemson will meet again, and this time the ACC Championship is on the line. The Fighting Irish offense racked up 47 points and 518 yards of offense against the Tigers, but this game will have a different look. Notre Dame is down a starting offensive lineman and Clemson gets back three starters that missed the first matchup.

We continue our coverage of round two of Notre Dame vs Clemson by looking at how the Irish offense stacks up on paper against the Tigers defense.

Notre Dame Scoring Offense vs. Clemson Scoring Defense

Advantage: Even

The first matchup was a bit of a breakout for the Notre Dame offense, which is playing its best ball of the season heading into round two. 

Notre Dame averaged 32.5 offensive points, 437.2 yards per game and 6.1 yards per play in the six games leading up to the first matchup. Beginning with the Clemson victory, Notre Dame has averaged 40.3 offensive points, 530.3 yards per game and 7.0 yards per play in its last four games.

Notre Dame has been far more explosive in recent games, which also came during the toughest stretch of the season, with the Irish facing three of its four opponents with a winning record in the last month.

The offense has been fueled by an outstanding third-down offense, but the red zone has been kryptonite at times for the offense. A fumble, a dropped pass and a false start on fourth-down in the red zone cost the Irish 15 points in the first matchup. 

Clemson remains ranked as one of the best defenses in the country, but the Tigers have benefitted from dominating inferior opponents. Even before injuries started crushing the defense, Clemson looked more vulnerable on defense than it had in recent seasons.

Clemson allowed just three opponents in 2018 and three opponents in 2019 to average at least 5.0 yards per play. This season, in just 10 games, Clemson has allowed four opponents to top 5.0 yards per play, and Notre Dame topped that list with 6.6 yards per play.

Last season, Clemson didn't allow a single opponent in 12 regular season games to reach 300 yards of offense. This season, in 10 games, Clemson has allowed five opponents to get over the 300-yard mark.

As good as Notre Dame has been on third-down offensively, the Tigers have been just as good with their third-down defense. Third-down success, red zone success and turnovers will be areas that will go a long way towards determining a victory in this game.

Notre Dame Rush Offense vs. Clemson Rush Defense

Advantage: Even

If you just go by the first matchup then this should be advantage Notre Dame, but both teams will have a different look when they meet again on Dec. 19.

Notre Dame will be without starting center Jarrett Patterson, who played well in the earlier victory over Clemson. Right guard Tommy Kraemer is also coming back from injury. 

Clemson is going in the opposite direction, as it will now have stud defensive tackle Tyler Davis and starting linebackers James Skalski and Mike Jones back in the lineup after they all missed the first matchup with injuries.

Even without Patterson and Kraemer, Notre Dame averaged 241 rushing yards and 6.3 yards per carry in its last two games. Quarterback Ian Book accounted for 101 of those yards and two of the six rushing touchdowns in that stretch, which came mostly on scrambles.

Notre Dame wore Syracuse and North Carolina down late in the game, but the Tigers are much deeper and will be harder to push around in the fourth quarter.

After giving up 208 yards (5.2 YPC) against Notre Dame, Clemson has been back to playing outstanding run defense, and it coincides with the return of Davis to the lineup. That is not a coincidence.

In its last two games, Clemson held Pitt and Virginia Tech to a combined 147 yards and 2.1 yards per carry. Virginia Tech was held to a season-low 131 yards and 2.9 yards per carry against the Tigers. 

Notre Dame Pass Offense vs. Clemson Pass Defense

Advantage: Notre Dame

Notre Dame's pass offense is much better now than it was heading into the first matchup, both on film and statistically. Book averaged 204.2 passing yards per game in the six games leading up to the first battle, but beginning with the win over the Tigers, Book has averaged 289.3 passing yards and threw for eight touchdowns.

The emergence of fifth-year senior wideout Javon McKinley has coincided with Book's breakout. McKinley hauled in five catches for 102 yards in the win over Clemson, and he's caught 23 passes for 396 yards (17.2 YPC) and three scores in his last four games. The veteran topped 100 yards three times during that four-game stretch.

McKinley has proven to be Notre Dame's best downfield weapon. Graduate Ben Skowronek is a quality complementary player, and senior Avery Davis made two huge plays in the upset victory on Nov. 7. Notre Dame needs them to play well against the Tigers, and it needs the tight ends (Michael Mayer, Tommy Tremble) to be big-time factors in the pass game.

Outside of junior Derion Kendrick, the Clemson cornerbacks have been inconsistent this season. Sophomore Andrew Booth has shown flashes of brilliance, but he's erratic, and the Irish torched Sheridan Jones in the first matchup.

Safety is where I felt Notre Dame could exploit Clemson's pass defense in the first game, and that's exactly what happened. Clemson hasn't shown me anything on film in its two games since to make me think that problem has been solved.

For me, the question in this game is will the Clemson pass rush win the battle of the bigs, or will the Irish offensive line give Book time to throw. That will be a huge, huge factor in this game.

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