Clemson football will take on Notre Dame in the CFB Playoff. One of the keys for the Tigers will be protecting Trevor Lawrence at quarterback.
The Clemson football team will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first-round of the CFB Playoff in the Cotton Bowl.
The Tigers will be looking to advance to the National Championship game for a third time in the past four years.
Throughout the next couple of weeks, we will be breaking down every single facet of the game as we get ready for what should be an exciting Cotton Bowl.
Today, we’ll take a look at how Notre Dame will plan to stop the Clemson football offense.
First, here are a few quick things to know about Notre Dame’s defense:
- Notre Dame has the best secondary in the CFB Playoff
- The Fighting Irish have given up just 12 plays of 30-plus yards all season
- Notre Dame is No. 4 in S+P+ defense
- Jerry Tillery is a monster DT
Pressuring Lawrence…
Notre Dame has some talented defensive backs in guys like Julian Love, Jalen Elliott, Alohi Graham and Troy Pride Jr.
They’ve been very good defensively for most of the season. Out of the four teams in the playoff, the Irish have the best secondary. With an injury or two, though, the Irish defensive backfield may not have as much depth as normal when they face Clemson.
The other thing is the fact that Notre Dame just hasn’t given up big plays all season. They make teams move the ball down the field and earn their points, which should be interesting to see because Clemson has had a ton of big plays this season.
What Notre Dame is going to try to do is pressure Lawrence. The Irish have confidence that their secondary can get the job done and I expect to see them bring an extra blitzer and mix up coverages to try and get Lawrence out of rhythm early.
The only chance that Notre Dame has, really, of slowing Clemson down is if they can get in the backfield and confuse Lawrence. That pressure will also make rushing the ball tough for the Tigers early on, as well.
So, for Clemson’s offense to get going, the Tigers are going to have to be able to protect Trevor Lawrence and Lawrence is going to have to make Notre Dame pay when they bring extra blitzers or stack the box.