Who were the best players from Saturday’s shocking win for Notre Dame over Clemson? The FIW staff has decided theirs for the win.
Jeff Feyerer’s Game Ball Awards for Notre Dame-Clemson:
Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Offensive: Ian Book
That right there was legacy cementing.
Book didn’t put up the best numbers of his career, but following his potentially disastrous 3rd quarter fumble at the goal line, the senior signal-caller bounced back to lead the Irish from behind in a pressure-packed scenario. Sure we need to include the disclaimer that Clemson was without a number of key contributors on defense, but the Tigers roll out waves of 5-star recruits so Book’s performance should not be lessened in my mind.
There were drops by Notre Dame receivers throughout including Michael Mayer at the goal line on third down and Ben Skowronek on fourth down with the game almost out of reach, but Book stayed poised. He used his legs to run when needed and make some big throws off-platform when escaping the pocket. His huge 57-yard toss to Avery Davis was a beauty. And most importantly, I never got the sense that the moment was too big for him.
The question has always been there: Is Ian Book good enough to bring a National Title to Notre Dame? We won’t know until that actually happens, but if I’m heading into a National Championship game with Ian Book under center, I’m going to feel OK.
Defensive: The Whole D Line
JOK was all over the place making plays (AGAIN), but this victory doesn’t happen without a) shutting down Travis Etienne and b) a dominant 2nd overtime defensive push. Putting the clamps on Etienne was one of my keys to the game heading in and they did that limiting the ACC’s all-time leading rusher to 28 yards on 18 carries. Daelin Hayes, Ade Ogundeji, Kurt Hinish provided a surge making it extraordinarily difficult for Etienne to find any daylight. Back to back sacks by Ogundeji on the final drive came as a shock to Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei who was picking apart the Irish secondary in the second half, but that line wasn’t going to let the win escape their grasp.
