Nick Shepkowski’s Notre Dame-Clemson Prediction:
It’s the biggest regular-season game Notre Dame has played in since 2005 and despite the pandemic limiting attendance, it’ll be a rocking atmosphere in South Bend on Saturday night.
Now how does Notre Dame finally end its skid against the elite teams in all of college football?
It can’t be as simple as Trevor Lawrence being out seeing as D.J. Uiagalelei is a five-star recruit and incredible talent himself. However, your first road game as a player is simply different, especially when you factor in the talent level Notre Dame has on defense.
In a game Brian Kelly says will be won in the trenches, Notre Dame is better on the offensive side and seemingly just as good on their defensive front.
It’ll come down to a couple of things for me:
- Ian Book doing enough down the field to keep Clemson from simply stacking the box and taking away the run. Book doesn’t have to be perfect, but he at least has to be dangerous enough in the passing game to keep Clemson honest in the secondary.
- Clemson’s running back, Travis Etienne, is as good as it gets at the position in college football, but he’s averaging the fewest yards per carry this year in any of his four seasons at Clemson. Notre Dame’s stout run defense must keep Etienne in check and make the freshman quarterback Uiageleilei beat them.
- Uiagalele already has talent and is certainly a star in the making but making him look like a freshman who is making his first road start is a must. He may have a rocket arm, but can Clark Lea disguise a coverage well enough to pick off a pass or two and steal a couple possessions? Nick McCloud has been very good at corner, and Kyle Hamilton has been outstanding as expected at safety and the Irish will need both to play their best.
Sometimes the stars and planets align and things come together, and I see a perfect storm brewing for Notre Dame to pull the upset. Clemson’s injuries, and more specifically to their defense, not just Lawrence, are too much for the Tigers to overcome as a Kyle Hamilton fourth-quarter interception seals the deal.
Notre Dame 27, Clemson 24