There’s not much more to say about Notre Dame’s performance in the ACC Championship Game. We saw what many might have thought would happen had Trevor Lawrence been able to play in South Bend. The fourth quarter was just about using the remaining time to prove worthiness for the College Football Playoff. We’ll see after a 34-10 loss.
The Tigers (10-1, 9-1) got their remaining points on a 37-yard field goal from B.T. Potter. When the Irish (10-1, 9-1) returned their offense to the field, they got help from some Tigers penalties, including a targeting call against safety Nolan Turner that will cost him the first half of Clemson’s semifinal game. Chris Tyree took advantage of these breaks by running for a 21-yard touchdown. At that point, the Irish were playing for pride and trying to sway the playoff committee their way, so we’ll see if that does anything for them.
The debate on whether the Irish should get a spot in the playoff will rage until noon Sunday. There’s a lot of lobbying for Texas A&M to replace the Irish in the current rankings, which would give the playoff two SEC teams. Still others would like to see the Irish stay in and have Ohio State knocked out after it needed a comeback to beat Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game. Whatever the ultimate decision is will say a lot about what criteria was most considered.