Game To Watch: #2 Notre Dame at #3 Clemson: December 19, 2020
Notre Dame and Clemson will face one another for the ACC Championship this Saturday at 4:00 EST in Charlotte. The Fighting Irish navigated their first season in the ACC with an undefeated 10 – 0 record and have gotten better as the season progressed. The Tigers are 9 – 1 and will be attempting to get revenge for their only loss of the season. Notre Dame and Clemson are both in the thick of the playoff race and could both get in if they don’t embarrass themselves this weekend.
Recent History
This is a rematch of the November 7th match-up between the two teams. Notre Dame emerged victorious in overtime in a high scoring battle between the two teams. Clemson played without Trevor Lawrence and several key starters on defense, including defensive tackle Tyler Davis. Despite being shorthanded the Tigers battled Notre Dame toe to toe and came up just short in overtime 47 – 40. Clemson beat Notre Dame in the two other games between the teams this decade in 2015 and 2018. The Tigers and Fighting Irish have only played one another five times, but four of the five games were decided by one score.
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What To Watch For…
Can Clemson’s defense play better than the first meeting?
Clemson’s defense had it’s worst outing of the season the last time they played Notre Dame. The Tigers were without star defensive tackle Tyler Davis, a leader at linebacker in James Skalski, and their most athletic linebacker in Mike Jones. All three players are expected to be in the lineup and should make a big difference in the front seven for the Tigers. Without Davis to hold the point of attack and create penetration upfront the Tigers defensive line was unable to win at the line of scrimmage. Notre Dame was the only team to run for 200 yards against Clemson this season. The Fighting Irish’s ability to control the line of scrimmage put pressure on a short handed linebackers corps and forced Clemson to commit to stopping the run, which in turn led to big plays in the passing game. Davis will make a big difference upfront. He will make disruptive plays and create favorable match-ups for the Tigers’ other defensive linemen. With Skalski calling the defense and Jones patrolling the second level it will be tougher for Notre Dame to run the ball. The better play upfront will also allow the Tigers to commit more players to pass defense. If Clemson wants a different result in the rematch, their retunring defensive playmakers will have to make their presence felt.
Will Notre Dame’s offensive line dominate the game?
The Notre Dame offensive line led the way for the offense in the first meeting between the two teams. They paved the way for the running attack to average over five yards per carry and only allowed Ian Book to be sacked twice. This was no surprise to anyone who was familiar with the Notre Dame team, the Fighting Irish have one of the best offensive lines in the country and have relied on them to dominate the line of scrimmage all season. As noted above, Clemson will have several key players in their front seven back this weekend, making the offensive lines job more difficult this time around. To make matters worse, Notre Dame will be without starting center Jarrett Patterson this time around. When Notre Dame has the ball the offensive line will determine how successful the offense is. If they are opening up running lanes and can keep Ian Book upright the offense will score plenty of points, but if they struggle Clemson could win big on Saturday.
How much difference will Trevor Lawrence make?
Trevor Lawrence missed the Notre Dame game because he was still recovering from Covid. In his absence, true freshman DJ Uiagalelei passed for 439 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. On the surface, it’s fair to ask how much better could Lawrence have done? Trevor Lawrence is arguably the best quarterback in college football and there were plenty of times he could have made a difference in the first game against Notre Dame. Four times Clemson drove the ball inside the Notre Dame 30 yard line and settled for field goals instead of touchdowns. As the offense moves closer to the endzone, the field begins to shrink and an inexperienced quarterback has a harder time finding windows to score touchdowns. Trevor Lawrence can turn a couple of those field goals into touchdowns and make sure the game never goes to overtime. Uiagalelei is a talented young quarterback, but it will take some time for him to master the Clemson offense the way Lawrence has. Trevor Lawrence being back will make a big difference, maybe not on the stat sheet, but in the way the game is played.
Prediction
Clemson will be out to prove their loss to Notre Dame earlier this season was a result of the circumstances and not a changing of the guard in the ACC. Lawrence and company will be fired up and will start quickly. Notre Dame has a talented roster as well, they will be prepared and will have some wrinkles for Clemson’s defense. Brent Venables adjusts as well as any defensive coordinator in college football and he will slow down the Irish in the second half allowing Clemson to pull away late. Clemson 45 Notre Dame 28.
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