Tag: Cornell Powell

ACC Championship Game: Second-Quarter Analysis

For the first time this season, Notre Dame needs to seriously reconsider its game plan.

For the first time this season, Notre Dame needs to seriously reconsider its game plan. If it doesn’t, Clemson could pull away en route to an easy win the ACC Championship Game. Many hoped that the second quarter would be a rebound to a disappointing end to the first. Instead, things got worse, and the Irish trail, 24-3, at halftime.

Deep in Tigers territory, the Irish realized they would have to take chances early if it wanted to take back control. On fourth-and-3, Avery Davis couldn’t hold onto an Ian Book pass that he should have. The Tigers took the ball over, and Trevor Lawrence immediately completed a 21-yard pass to Cornell Powell. He only needed a few more plays to hit E.J. Williams for a 33-yard touchdown.

When Book returned to the field, he had as miserable a time on a football field as he has all season. On what turned out to be the Irish’s only series, he took back-to-back sacks from K.J. Henry and Derion Kendrick. Although Jay Bramblett had a 51-yard punt, it meant little to Lawrence, who led another solid drive and got to the Irish’s 10-yard line. The Notre Dame defense didn’t let him advance the ball any further, and it was happy to only allow a 27-yard field goal from B.T. Potter.

After another offensive drive that stalled out quickly, Bramblett punted it 47 yards to the Clemson 12. With time running out on the half, the Tigers used a series of runs and short passes to at least get into field-goal range before the half. The drive ended with a 44-yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne. It all happened in 1:49, putting the Irish in a deeper halftime hole than they might have anticipated.

Don’t lose faith yet, Irish fans. So many times this season, we’ve seen this team fall down and pick itself back up, making it stronger than it was before. If that holds true now, we’re about to see the best half of football it’s played all year. As the old saying goes, setbacks are setups for comebacks.

ACC Championship Game: Second-Quarter Analysis

For the first time this season, Notre Dame needs to seriously reconsider its game plan.

For the first time this season, Notre Dame needs to seriously reconsider its game plan. If it doesn’t, Clemson could pull away en route to an easy win the ACC Championship Game. Many hoped that the second quarter would be a rebound to a disappointing end to the first. Instead, things got worse, and the Irish trail, 24-3, at halftime.

Deep in Tigers territory, the Irish realized they would have to take chances early if it wanted to take back control. On fourth-and-3, Avery Davis couldn’t hold onto an Ian Book pass that he should have. The Tigers took the ball over, and Trevor Lawrence immediately completed a 21-yard pass to Cornell Powell. He only needed a few more plays to hit E.J. Williams for a 33-yard touchdown.

When Book returned to the field, he had as miserable a time on a football field as he has all season. On what turned out to be the Irish’s only series, he took back-to-back sacks from K.J. Henry and Derion Kendrick. Although Jay Bramblett had a 51-yard punt, it meant little to Lawrence, who led another solid drive and got to the Irish’s 10-yard line. The Notre Dame defense didn’t let him advance the ball any further, and it was happy to only allow a 27-yard field goal from B.T. Potter.

After another offensive drive that stalled out quickly, Bramblett punted it 47 yards to the Clemson 12. With time running out on the half, the Tigers used a series of runs and short passes to at least get into field-goal range before the half. The drive ended with a 44-yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne. It all happened in 1:49, putting the Irish in a deeper halftime hole than they might have anticipated.

Don’t lose faith yet, Irish fans. So many times this season, we’ve seen this team fall down and pick itself back up, making it stronger than it was before. If that holds true now, we’re about to see the best half of football it’s played all year. As the old saying goes, setbacks are setups for comebacks.

Notre Dame vs. Clemson: Overtime Analysis

When you root for a team, there are moments when it does the unthinkable, and you have no choice but to participate in the exhilaration.

When you root for a team, there are moments when it does the unthinkable, and you have no choice but to participate in the exhilaration. Saturday was one of those moments as Notre Dame upset top-ranked Clemson, 47-40, in double overtime. It’s possible the Irish (7-0, 6-0) will face the Tigers (7-1, 6-1) again in the ACC title game next month, and Trevor Lawrence surely will be suiting up this time. But this time of celebration is not the time to think about that.

At the start of the first overtime, the Tigers decided giving the Irish any breathing room was a chance they couldn’t take. On the very first play, D.J. Uiagalelei successfully executed a play-action pass and found Cornell Powell for what appeared to be a 25-yard touchdown. A lengthy replay review (and there were a lot of them in this game) ruled Powell down at the half-yard line, but it didn’t matter because Uiagalelei promptly took the ball into the end zone himself.

When the Irish got their turn with the ball, Ian Book found Michael Mayer for a 15-yard completion, putting them in good position. Two plays later, Kyren Williams ran 3 yards for the game-tying touchdown. To a second overtime we went.

The Irish got the ball first this time and had a little bit of difficulty at first. But Book’s 10-yard completion to Ben Skowronek set the Irish up at the Tigers’ 3-yard line. Williams was in the end zone two plays later, so the defense needed to do its part.

What followed ensured that Adetokunbo Ogundeji will be a legend in South Bend forevermore. He sacked Uiagalelei on back-to-back plays, getting help from Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah the first time around. The moment Nick McCloud recovered a fumble when the Tigers absolutely needed a first down to stay alive, bedlam erupted at Notre Dame Stadium. There’s no reason it shouldn’t have either.

This is a moment to celebrate. The criticism that Notre Dame can’t show up when the stakes are raised has been vanquished. It took long enough, but we’ve finally arrived. The future has arrived, and it’s a bright one.

Notre Dame vs. Clemson: First-Quarter Analysis

If Notre Dame wanted to get off to a fast start against Clemson, mission accomplished.

If Notre Dame wanted to get off to a fast start against Clemson, mission accomplished. Almost before the crowd at Notre Dame Stadium had settled in, the Irish already had the lead. Then, they were up by more than one score. We don’t know if they’ll win this game, but at least we can say they had a 10-7 lead after the first quarter.

The Irish took the ball first and immediately benefited from a Tigers holding penalty. Just as quickly, Kyren Williams found an opening and was off to the end zone from 65 yards out. The defense then came out for its first series and forced a three-and-out. The offense started its next possession on the 44-yard line and, on a drive highlighted by a 28-yard pass from Ian Book to Javon McKinley, got agonizingly close to another touchdown before settling for a 24-yard field goal from Jonathan Doerer.

Scoring on its first two possessions turned out to be necessary for Notre Dame. Clemson wasted no time march downfield when it got the ball next, needing only four plays to score its first touchdown of the contest. That came on a 53-yard pass from D.J. Uiagalelei to Cornell Powell. With all of the weapons they have, look for the Tigers’ offense to do that a lot throughout.

Notre Dame vs. Clemson: Positional breakdown advantages

A breakdown of each position for Notre Dame and Clemson and who has the advantage.

This is the game of the year in the ACC, if not all college football, at least in the regular season. No. 1 Clemson travels to South Bend to take on No. 4 Notre Dame. This highly anticipated game will feature a number of future NFL stars.

A look at each position and which team has the advantage in Saturday’s huge contest.

Don’t forget to take a look at each of our tales of the tape as well (wide receivers, running backs, and quarterbacks)

(Some photo’s courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics)