On ESPN’s College Football Live this week, Desmond Howard discussed what he saw as the most surprising moment from Week 10 of the college football season.
The longtime ESPN analyst pointed to then-fourth-ranked Clemson’s 35-14 loss at then-unranked Notre Dame, which snapped the Tigers’ nation-leading 14-game winning streak dating to last season.
“Talking about a team getting throttled, how ’bout the No. 4 Clemson Tigers,” Howard said. “Going into that game, I thought that it would be an issue taking on Notre Dame. I do an MVP segment every Saturday morning — the ‘V’ is for vulnerable — and I said I thought that Clemson would be kind of vulnerable going to South Bend. But I never imagined that they would lose 35 to 14.”
Clemson’s defense allowed a season-high 263 rushing yards to the Irish, while the Tigers were limited to a season-low 281 yards of offense and a season-low two touchdowns. Clemson turned the ball over twice on a couple of interceptions, including a 96-yard pick six.
“I mean, it was just a hell of a defensive performance by Notre Dame, and the offense was clicking. And I can’t tell you the last time I’ve seen a Clemson Tigers offense look that bad,” Howard said. “So, talk about getting throttled — the No. 4 team in the country, Clemson Tigers, throttled by Notre Dame.”
Notre Dame (6-3) moved into the latest College Football Playoff rankings that were released Tuesday night, coming in at No. 20, while Clemson (8-1, 6-0 ACC) dropped to No. 10.
TCU, previously ranked No. 7 in the first CFP rankings, took over the Tigers’ No. 4 spot in the second edition of the rankings.
“To keep it 100, I would’ve had TCU at No. 4 a week ago, not Clemson,” Howard said. “It made no sense to me whatsoever. I’ve been impressed with TCU.”
–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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