At first, it seemed that Notre Dame wouldn’t allow the situation to get any worse. It turned out things haven’t gotten any better. The Irish will need the quarter of all quarters to come back against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. That’s what they’re facing as they trail, 31-3, after three quarters.
Initially, the defense played much better, forcing the Tigers into back-to-back three-and-outs. It even got to Trevor Lawrence behind the line a couple of times. Meanwhile, the offense tried in vain to get out of its rut, gaining little yardage after starting its first two possessions inside the 20-yard line. Ian Book tried his hardest to find open receivers, but they just weren’t there, and he paid for that by getting wrapped up for either negative yardage or no yardage at all.
Perhaps inspired by how much support his defense was providing him, Lawrence decided to take advantage. On third down, he threw a 22-yard pass that E.J. Williams had to make an amazing play on to complete, and he did. Travis Etienne then busted off a couple of a nice runs to get to the Notre Dame 34. Lawrence needed only one yard to pick up the first down, but he ran to the end zone instead, delivering a backbreaker to the Irish.
If you were watching this game and have turned it off already, you certainly can’t be blamed. It’s difficult to watch a team that’s been successful all year get humbled like this on yet another big stage. Still, even if the win is out the window, how it finishes this game could make or break its chances of making the College Football Playoff. Hope for breaking that national-title drought this year might still be alive.