Stacking Up: How The Notre Dame Defense Matches Up vs. Clemson

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

Notre Dame and Clemson square off this weekend in what could be the biggest game of the regular season. For the Fighting Irish, getting its defense to continue playing at the high level we've seen all season is the key to victory.

Let's take a look at how the Notre Dame defense stacks up on paper against the potent Clemson offense:

Notre Dame Scoring Defense vs. Clemson Scoring Offense

Advantage: Even

Even without Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, this is a matchup of one of the nation's best defenses against one of the best offenses.

Notre Dame has been dominant on defense all season, even when it plays against top offenses. Against the best offense it has faced this season (Louisville), the Irish defense was especially dominant. Louisville scored 33.2 points and averaged and 469.0 yards per game against its six other opponents, but had just seven points and 233 yards against the Irish.

Only Florida State has topped 350 yards against the Irish, and only FSU and Duke have topped 300 yards. Notre Dame's defense has allowed just 5.3 points and 211.0 yards per game in its last three games.

The Irish square off against a Clemson offense that averaged 48.7 points and 524.7 yards per game in its last three contests. Of course, Clemson had Lawrence in two of those games, but the Tigers still scored 34 points and racked up 448 yards in its victory over Boston College, the first start for quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei.

Notre Dame has one of the nation's best red zone defenses and best third-down defenses, while Clemson is one of the nation's best offenses in those areas. Who wins those two battles could hold the key to winning this matchup.

Notre Dame Rush Defense vs. Clemson Rush offense

Advantage: Notre Dame

This is the one matchup in this game where Notre Dame holds a significant on paper advantage, and the Irish need that to play out on Saturday night.

Notre Dame has held four of its six opponents to less than 100 yards rushing, and another (South Florida) had just 106 yards. Three of the six opponents were held to under 3.0 yards per play, and two more were under 4.0 yards per carry.

Notre Dame has been highly disruptive all season, ranking 14ht in tackles for loss per game, but its run defense is built around a sound scheme that is executed extremely well on all three levels of the defense.

Notre Dame held Louisville running back Javian Hawkins to just 51 yards 3.4 yards per carry. Hawkins ranks 10th in the nation in rushing, and he averaged 128.5 yards per game and 6.5 yards per carry in the other six games.

Clemson running back Travis Etienne is arguably the nation's best running back, but he's averaging just 86.6 rushing yards per game and 5.9 yards per carry. His YPC is down from 7.8 in 2019, 8.1 in 2018 and 7.2 in 2017.

Etienne has averaged just 4.6 yards per carry in the last three games, and the Clemson offensive line has been a culprit. With four new starters, the Tiger line just hasn't gelled this season, and Notre Dame must make sure that doesn't happen this weekend.

Notre Dame Pass Defense vs. Clemson Pass Offense

Advantage: Even

This is the area where Notre Dame will be challenged the most. Notre Dame's numbers and ranking are quite impressive, with the defensive ranking in the Top 10 nationally in yards allowed, fewest touchdowns allowed and pass efficiency defense.

What we don't know is if the pass defense is truly that good, or if it has feasted on bad passing offenses. The Irish have faced a number of good receivers, but not many good passing offenses. Pitt is the only offense that ranks in the Top 40 in passing offense, and only Louisville ranks in the Top 40 in pass efficiency.

Of course, Pitt played against Notre Dame with its backup quarterback, and he's not in the same league as Uiagalelei.

Clemson has an explosive pass offense, and that should continue even without Lawrence. Senior Amari Rodgers ranks second in the ACC and 10th nationally in receiving yards (586) and is tied for first in the league in touchdowns (6). 

No running back in the entire country has more receiving yards (434) than Etienne, who ranks 10th in the ACC.

A matchup to watch will be the Irish defensive line against the Clemson offensive line, and for Notre Dame a win in this area on passing downs will have a big impact on whether or not the Irish can keep Clemson's points down.

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