Five Clemson football players who’ll determine the outcome vs. Notre Dame
The Clemson football team has an opportunity to make a statement on the national stage with a win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The Tigers enter the game ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation with Notre Dame coming in at No. 4. The winner of this game will not only take a lead in the ACC standings, but will also have an inside track to a CFB Playoff berth.
As we prepare for this highly-anticipated game tonight, here’s a look at five Clemson football players who’ll determine the outcome of the game against the Fighting Irish Saturday evening.
5. Travis Etienne
We’re going to go ahead and kick off this list with the most obvious name: Travis Etienne.
Clemson needs to control time of possession a little bit and sustain drives. To do that, the Tigers are going to put the ball in the hands of one of the greatest playmakers in the history of the Clemson football program in Etienne.
Look for Etienne to carry the ball out of the backfield, but then also get involved in the passing game as he has been over the last few weeks, especially. He’s going to get a ton of touches and it’s going to be important get Etienne going in as many ways as possible.
He’s the cog that makes this offense click, no doubt about it.
4. Trenton Simpson & Jake Venables
For this next spot, we have to talk about two individuals who are going to see their roles amplified even more than what they already were.
Trenton Simpson and Jake Venables will make starts at linebacker this evening due to the fact that Mike Jones Jr. and James Skalski are both out with injuries. While both linebackers made starts last week, this week will be even more important because of the type of offense they’ll be facing.
Notre Dame likes to run the ball first and work the short and intermediate passing game. That means both Simpson and Venables are going to be tested and it’s going to be interesting to see what they’re able to do on this stage.
3. D.J. Uiagalelei
D.J. Uiagalelei made his Clemson football starting debut last weekend against Boston College and threw for more than 300 yards and accounted for three touchdowns.
He’s going to be relied upon to make some of those same plays this week against a more athletic Notre Dame defense that will likely throw some exotic coverage schemes in play just to try to confuse him.
Uiagalelei needs to refrain from turning the ball over and make smart decisions. He easily has the talent to get the best of that Fighting Irish defense and it will be up to him to make the plays necessary to win.
2. Bryan Bresee
Another freshman who is going to be counted upon heavily to make winning plays in this game is DT Bryan Bresee.
Bresee made the game-saving sack last week against Boston College that resulted in a safety and he’s going to be asked to play a lot of snaps on the inside against a physical Notre Dame offensive line. He’s going to need to come away with some tackles in the rushing game and get after Ian Book.
Bresee is a special player and this may very well be his introduction to the rest of the nation who hasn’t been paying attention to this point.
1. Tiger offensive line
Our last spot goes to the entire Clemson football offensive line.
If the Tigers want to win this game, they’re going to need a better effort in the trenches. They need better snaps from Cade Stewart. They need to get a better push on running plays and give Uiagalelei time to throw the ball on passing downs.
This game will be won and lost up-front, and there’s really no other way around it.
That Tiger offensive line has its hands full and it will be interesting to see what they’re able to do Saturday against the Fighting Irish.