SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame sent No. 4 Clemson crashing from the ranks of the unbeaten Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Here are four sequences that went a long way in determining the outcome, a turning point and a telling stat from the Tigers’ 35-14 loss.
- Things started ominously for the Tigers when Clemson was called for holding on two of their first three offensive plays. Receiver Beaux Collins also missed a block on a screen pass that drew the ire of Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and pushed the Tigers farther behind the sticks, eventually forcing Clemson’s first punt of the night. But Aidan Swanson never got it off as Jordan Botelho broke through the Tiger’s protection unit and blocked the kick. Prince Und Collie scooped it up for Notre Dame and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown, which accounted for half of the points scored in the first two quarters.
- Clemson briefly kept Notre Dame from padding its lead midway through the second quarter when Irish kicker Blake Grupe tried to line drive a 42-yard field goal through the wind, but the kick hooked left. But the swing in momentum didn’t last long as Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei was wide on a screen pass on Clemson’s next play and followed with another errant pass to Will Shipley that went backward out of bounds, setting up another third-and-long that led to a punt. Notre Dame took over possession at its own 22-yard line and marched 78 yards on 11 plays, 10 of those being runs that helped milk nearly 6 minutes off the clock. The last one came on quarterback Drew Pyne’s 5-yard keeper that made it a 14-0 Irish advantage with 38 seconds left in the first half.
- Clemson forced a punt on Notre Dame’s first possession of the second half and took over at its own 6-yard line. After a false start that pushed the Tigers back even further, Uiagalelei connected with Collins for a 15-yard completion that got Clemson out of the shadow of its own end zone. Uiagalelei later found Adam Randall for 12 yards for another third-down conversion, and Clemson was officially marching on what was its longest drive of the night at the time. But it stalled near midfield, and the Tigers punted back to Notre Dame with just 5:19 left in the third quarter. The Irish eventually had to punt at the end of their next possession, too, but not before moving into Clemson territory and taking almost three and a half more minutes off the block before Clemson started its next drive with just 1:20 left in the third quarter.
- Already trailing by two touchdowns and time of the essence, Clemson turned to freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik late in the third quarter with an already scuffling offense backed up inside its own 10. After a first-down handoff to Shipley, Klubnik rolled out looking to pass on second down. But Justin Ademilola quickly applied pressure for Notre Dame, and Klubnik lofted a pass off his back foot toward the middle of the field that was intercepted by Benjamin Morrison, setting Notre Dame’s offense up with its shortest field of the night. The Irish cashed in a few plays later on Audric Estime’s 2-yard touchdown plunge that pushed the Irish’s lead to 21-0 early in the fourth quarter.
Turning point
Clemson’s offense had its best chance to get the Tigers back in the game early in the fourth quarter thanks in large part to a handful of pass-interference penalties on Notre Dame. Those helped move the Tigers into Notre Dame territory for just the second time all game, and a couple of 7-yard completions after that had Clemson at the Irish’s 19 threatening to make it a two-score game. But Uiagalelei’s next pass intended for Joseph Ngata down the sideline was undercut by Morrison and returned 96 yards for a pick-six to make it a 28-0 advantage with just 12:58 left, putting the game well out of reach if it wasn’t already.
Telling stat: 3.3
That’s how many yards per snap Clemson’s offense averaged through the first three quarters when the Tigers still had a chance. It was only a fighting one at best, though, with an offense that failed to do much of anything when it mattered. The pick-six combined with another interception in the shadow of the end zone certainly didn’t help, but even without the help of those turnovers, Notre Dame still outscored Clemson (21-7) in the Tigers’ worst offensive showing of the season. The Tigers had just 71 yards at the half and reached Notre Dame territory just four times, two of those trips across. midfield coming in fourth-quarter garbage time. Clemson set season-lows in total yards (281) and rushing yards (90).