Tag: 2020 acc football

Notre Dame Needs Win Over Clemson to Help Shake ‘Not Elite’ Label

For a long time now, Notre Dame has been accused of being a wannabe premier program that simply can’t beat the top dogs.

For a long time now, Notre Dame has been accused of being a wannabe premier program that simply can’t beat the top dogs. As much as Irish fans might not want to hear it, these critics simply are stating facts. Since the College Football Playoff era began in 2014, the Irish have lost seven of eight games against top-10 opponents. An Ohio State fan on Twitter pointed this out while also throwing shade the Irish’s way:

You’ll notice the second-most recent loss came against Clemson in the 2018 Cotton Bowl, and many of the same names and faces will be on the field Saturday in South Bend. An upset win over the top-ranked team in the country not only would get revenge for that defeat, but it would convince a lot of people that this is not the same old Notre Dame that falters when the stakes are raised. There’s a lot more riding on this game than the Irish’s CFP hopes for this year. The short-term and long-term implications could be enormous.

Tale of the Tape: Leading Rushers – Kyren Williams vs. Travis Etienne

If you want a battle of running backs, Notre Dame-Clemson will be the game to tune into.

If you want a battle of running backs, Notre Dame-Clemson will be the game to tune into. For maybe the first time all season, Kyren Williams enters a contest not holding the clear advantage at the position. Still, that doesn’t diminish the fact that he’ll pick up a bunch of yardage almost every time he touches the ball, either by taking it on the ground or catching a pass from Ian Book. If the Irish are to pull off the upset, he’ll need to be every bit as excellent as he’s been all year.

The Tigers have a solid running back in Travis Etienne, and he’s every bit as dangerous as a receiver. You can’t ask for much more than what he’s done rushing the ball, but that only tells part of the story. The fact that his rushing yardage isn’t far off from his receiving yardage shows his completeness. He’ll get a real test against the Irish’s touted run defense.

Trevor Lawrence Will Be on Clemson’s Sideline Against Notre Dame

Even though Trevor Lawrence won’t play against Notre Dame, he’ll still be around.

Even though Trevor Lawrence won’t play against Notre Dame, he’ll still be around. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney confirmed Tuesday that Lawrence will be on the sideline for the game. Although he will have cleared the 10-day isolation protocol by Thursday, he also must complete some cardiovascular tests for symptoms of myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle. All of those won’t be done in time for Saturday’s contest.

Perhaps Lawrence’s biggest role during the game will be mentoring D.J. Uiagalelei. Though highly touted, Uiagalelei still is a freshman with limited game experience. We got a good look at him when he started against Boston College, but how will he do against a punishing Irish defense? This will be his first real test as a collegiate player, and Lawrence knows the game better than pretty much any other player at this level.

No, Lawrence won’t appear in the box score Saturday, but to say he won’t have an impact on the game is quite presumptuous.

Tale of the Tape: Starting Quarterbacks – Ian Book vs. D.J. Uiagalelei

When it comes to Notre Dame-Clemson, quarterback will be a position more about who’s not there than who is.

When it comes to Notre Dame-Clemson, quarterback will be a position more about who’s not there than who is. Consequently, Ian Book has the advantage by default, but will he make the difference between victory and defeat for the Irish? More than a quarter of the plays involving him have had him keep the ball for himself, and he’s not exactly blowing anyone away as a quarterback who runs frequently. The Irish will need everyone at the top of their game, and that includes Book, who has been unspectacular more often than not this season.

With no Trevor Lawrence, the Tigers will turn to five-star freshman D.J. Uiagalelei to start under center. The early returns on him have been promising, completing 70 percent of his passes, and averaging 4.1 yards a carry when his own number has been called. Though it’s too soon to know exactly who he is at this level, we’ll probably get a good idea as he finds himself thrust into college football’s biggest game of the season. If he demonstrates why he was highly recruited, he not only will set the Tigers up well in this game, but also for the next couple of years.

What If Notre Dame, Miami Finish Tied for Second Place in the ACC?

No one wants to imagine Notre Dame losing to Clemson, but you have to brace for the possibility.

No one wants to imagine Notre Dame losing to Clemson, but you have to brace for the possibility. At that point, the Irish would be playing for second place in the ACC and a spot in the title game. The most likely team they would have to battle for that spot is Miami, which has lost only once. These teams don’t play each other this season, and the follow three tiebreaker scenarios are irrelevant in this case, so the Miami Herald has broken down the fifth tiebreaker scenario should it come to that.

That scenario is higher ranking in the Team Rating Score metric from SportSource Analytics. The company is about as likely to publicly reveal that formula as Mr. Krabs is to hand over the one for Krabby Patties to Plankton. So it’s pretty much the Bowl Championship Series all over again, albeit on a much smaller scale. There’s nothing either team would be able to do with the result but accept it, and only one would be going to Charlotte.

 

 

 

College GameDay Coming to South Bend for Notre Dame-Clemson

No Trevor Lawrence doesn’t mean no national interest when Notre Dame welcomes Clemson to South Bend.

No Trevor Lawrence doesn’t mean no national interest when Notre Dame welcomes Clemson to South Bend. In fact, ESPN has decided to give the game the highest honor it can bestow. That’s right. College GameDay will broadcast from South Bend ahead of kickoff.

During ESPN’s coverage, it showed a graphic that put this contest at the top of a list of games this season that have College Football Playoff implications. The Tigers might be able to afford to drop this game and still sneak into the bracket, but this is it for the Irish. If they can’t win this, it likely will take a miracle for them to get back into consideration for the playoff. So with or without Lawrence, ESPN decided it simply couldn’t ignore this game.

The hype building up to this game will be unreal, and it only makes sense that this be the culmination of it all. NBC might be covering the actual game, but ESPN just gave itself a nice piece of the ratings pie. And whether the Irish win or lose, the national spotlight will be a lot of fun.

Brian Kelly Reacts to Trevor Lawrence’s Pending Absence

Anytime a game is missing a marquee player that should be there, it’s a disappointment.

Anytime a game is missing a marquee player that should be there, it’s a disappointment. When he learned that Trevor Lawrence will not suit up for Clemson when it travels to Notre Dame, Brian Kelly expressed his disappointment. After all, it would have been a perfect opportunity to showcase just how good his team is. It probably still will be, given how good the rest of Clemson is, at least according to him:

“It’s too bad he’s not playing. You want the best players to play. But look, the kid that played today, [D.J. Uiagalelei], is a five-star recruit as well. I know he’s not Trevor Lawrence, but they’re not going to come to South Bend shorthanded.”

Kelly further elaborated on Lawrence’s positive COVID-19 test, wished the prolific quarterback well, and expressed his team’s excitement for the big test ahead:

“When I heard he got the virus the first thing you think of is, ‘I hope he’s OK. I hope he doesn’t have any lingering effects that affect him. He’s the best player in college football. You start to think, ‘Is he gonna play? I’m sure he’s gonna play.’ Then I hear today he’s not gonna play, which is probably the safest thing.

“We wish him good health and a speedy recovery, but they’ll be well-fortified with an outstanding quarterback who played today. We’ve been preparing for this opportunity to play the best team in the country in Clemson at home… They’re excited about this opportunity to play the gold standard in Clemson.”

Notre Dame at Georgia Tech: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

Notre Dame has done exactly what it needed to do heading into Clemson, which is stay undefeated.

Notre Dame has done exactly what it needed to do heading into Clemson, which is stay undefeated. Despite knowing they will not face Trevor Lawrence, the Irish will stay motivated as they prepare. That will not happen right away, though. For now, they can enjoy their 31-13 win over Georgia Tech.

The Irish (6-0, 5-0) continued a drive that began in the third quarter with a 20-yard pass from Ian Book to Kyren Williams. That was followed by four consecutive runs from C’Bo Flemister. On that final carry, Flemister found the end zone from 3 yards out.

The Yellow Jackets (2-5, 2-4) built some positives for their future by responding with a touchdown drive. That came on a 1-yard run from Jordan Mason. A subsequent two-point conversion failed, but the Yellow Jackets recovered an onside kick. Any hope this game would get closer was snuffed when the Irish’s defense only allowed the Georgia Tech offense to move backward on the resulting drive.

It wasn’t the prettiest game for the Irish, but style points don’t count. They now look forward to perhaps the most anticipated game of the college football season. It doesn’t matter which players are and aren’t playing or for how long. This will be one to look forward to.

Notre Dame at Georgia Tech: Third-Quarter Analysis

It took a quarter longer than it should have, but Notre Dame finally has Georgia Tech on the ropes.

It took a quarter longer than it should have, but Notre Dame finally has Georgia Tech on the ropes. Some quality play on both sides of the ball puts the Irish within striking distance of keeping their perfect record heading into Clemson. While the college football world was reacting to the news of Trevor Lawrence being out for that game, the Irish were building a 24-7 lead that last through the end of the third quarter.

The Yellow Jackets threatened to close the gap after a 39-yard completion from Jeff Sims to Jalen Camp put the ball on the Irish’s 22-yard line. That hope was snuffed out on the next play when Daelin Hayes IV strip-sacked Sims, and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa recovered the ball. Though the subsequent drive was defined by the run once again, the big blow was Ian Book’s 31-yard completion to Javon McKinley that put the Irish in the red zone. Kyren Williams took the ball for the next two plays because that’s all he needed, scoring a touchdown from 4 yards out on the latter of those plays.

The Irish suffered a loss for this game and next week when Marist Liafau was disqualified was ejected for targeting. He will miss the first half of the Clemson game as a result. Jude Kelley badly missed a field goal for the Yellow Jackets on the same drive, so no harm was done, at least in the short-term.

BREAKING: Trevor Lawrence Officially Out Against Notre Dame

While it’s nice to try and take advantage of a weakened opponent, I don’t think anyone wanted this.

While it’s nice to try and take advantage of a weakened opponent, I don’t think anyone wanted this. About 45 minutes after Clemson defeated Boston College on Saturday, coach Dabo Swinney announced that Trevor Lawrence, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, will not play at Notre Dame next week. This comes after the Tigers already lost defensive end Xavier Thomas for the first half of that game for a targeting penalty late in Saturday’s game.

The news of college football’s most prolific player missing arguably the sport’s most important game this season is sure to raise one question after another. Is Clemson truly worthy of holding the top spot in the rankings at the moment? How much would a Notre Dame upset be diminished, thus affecting its College Football Playoff resume? Is next week’s game still worthy of the hype it’s gotten, or does this twist cause people to lose interest?

All of a sudden, it’s up to D.J. Uiagalelei to carry the Tigers in South Bend. He did well against the Eagles, but the Irish will present much more of a challenge for the freshman. Fortunately for him, he has a full week to prepare. Whether that will be enough won’t be answered until the game is played.