According to the most recent CFB Playoff rankings, Clemson football would matchup with Notre Dame if the playoff were today.
The Clemson football team remained ranked No. 2 in the nation in the CFB Playoff Rankings, according to the latest poll released Tuesday evening.
Here’s a look at the updated top-10:
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Notre Dame
- Michigan
- Georgia
- Oklahoma
- LSU
- Washington State
- West Virginia
- Ohio State
That means that if we were to have the playoff today, the Tigers would play Notre Dame in the first round.
So, how would Clemson football fare in a game against the Fighting Irish? I think it would certainly be a favorable first round for the Tigers.
Clemson vs. Notre Dame…
Notre Dame has a very good quarterback in Ian Book and their offense has looked a lot better since changing to him back in the earlier part of the season.
The problem with the Fighting Irish, though, is the fact that they’re struggling with teams like Northwestern and Pittsburgh. I’m not convinced that the Fighting Irish don’t lose before the season is over, but let’s assume that they win-out.
Notre Dame has a solid defense, ranking in the top-20 nationally in just about every category. They’re tied with Alabama for 10th in the nation in yards per play (4.6) and have looked good.
Now, let’s not pretend that they’ve faced the most prolific offenses as of yet, but the same could probably be said about Clemson. On that note, I’m actually interested to see how Notre Dame performs against Syracuse in two weeks and that Orange offense led by Eric Dungey.
Back to the Tigers and Fighting Irish, though, I really think this is a favorable matchup for Clemson. The Tigers have more depth and, in my opinion, are just better on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame has a solid quarterback in Book with a dynamic running back in Dexter Williams.
The weak spot of their defense lies in the secondary. They’ve got a pretty good front-seven, but have struggled at times in the defensive backfield. That’s where I think Trevor Lawrence could take advantage of that Irish defense.
In the end, though, I think Clemson football just has more talent and that depth and experience would probably be the difference in the game for the Tigers.