Clemson’s College Football Playoff hopes were dealt a potentially catastrophic blow Saturday with its lopsided loss to Notre Dame. Now the Tigers will try to rebound when they jump back into ACC play this week against Louisville.

Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the Tigers’ 35-14 setback:

The good

There isn’t much from a game in which Clemson was being shut out through the first three quarters, but Will Shipley was the lone bright spot for the offense.

One could certainly argue the Tigers’ primary running back should’ve been featured just as heavily as he had been the last couple of games, particularly when the game was still reasonably close. Because Shipley averaged more than 5 yards per carry on his 12 carries. He also had five receptions and accounted for 101 all-purpose yards.

Shipley got Clemson on the board with his 11th rushing touchdown of the season early in the fourth quarter. It was too little, too late with the Tigers down 28-0 at the time, but it was a sign that Clemson wasn’t going to quit. The Tigers pieced together 75-yard scoring drives on their last two possessions, showing some fight on an otherwise forgettable night.

The bad

For the second straight game, Clemson’s quarterback play was nowhere near good enough when the game was still competitive.

D.J. Uiagalelei played most of it after watching the majority of the second half against Syracuse from the bench, but the Tigers’ starter wasn’t much better against Notre Dame. He was inaccurate at times and indecisive at other times, which led to some bad sacks after Uiagalelei held the ball too long. Cade Klubnik relieved him for one series late in the third quarter but was intercepted on his lone pass attempt, which ended his night. The two combined for more interceptions (2) than touchdown passes (1).

One of those picks was returned 96 yards for a score, making it two straight games that one of Uiagalelei’s turnovers has directly resulted in points for the opposition. It contributed to Clemson losing another turnover battle. The Tigers, who didn’t get a takeaway, are minus-5 in the turnover department in their last eight quarters.

The play-calling left a lot to be desired, too. Offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter acknowledged there was a “little bit of an adjustment” with the approach through the air given the stiff wind that was blowing inside Notre Dame Stadium, but the Tigers spent most of the night unsuccessfully trying to attack the perimeter with screens and swing passes and rarely attacked vertically with the passing game, which continues to lack the explosiveness it had seemed to regain during the first half of the season.

On a night when the Tigers averaged just 7.1 yards per completion, Clemson’s top pass-catchers were a tight end (Davis Allen, seven catches) and a running back (Shipley, five). Antonio Williams was the leading receiver with just 26 yards.

“We just didn’t execute good enough,” Streeter said. “In the end, we just didn’t do good things.”

And special teams were anything but. Notre Dame set the tone for its rout when Ruke Orhorhoro whiffed on a protection block on Clemson’s first punt, which allowed Notre Dame to come free for a block that resulted in its first touchdown. 

The ugly

With just 281 total yards, the offense was the least productive it’s been all season. Yet arguably the biggest surprise was what Notre Dame’s offense was able to do to Clemson’s defense up front.

Clemson’s front seven is littered with next-level talent, which has been as big a reason as any as to why the Tigers have owned a top-10 run defense nationally over the last two years. Yet it was hard to tell Saturday.

It’s been a long time since that group has been dominated at the point of attack like it was Saturday. Notre Dame ran roughshod over, around and through the Tigers for 263 of their 348 yards, easily the most the Tigers have allowed this season. During one of the Irish’s scoring drives in the first half, they ran the ball on 10 of 11 plays.

A Clemson defense that came in allowing the seventh-fewest rushing yards in the FBS had no answers on a night when Notre Dame averaged nearly 6 yards per carry. Logan Diggs (114), who ripped off an average of 6.7 yards on his 17 totes, and Audric Estime (104) each surpassed 100 yards on the ground, becoming the first teammates to do that in the same game against Clemson in a decade. 

Now, barring sheer chaos around the country the rest of the way, a return to the CFP will be wishful thinking for the Tigers.