Clemson football makes CFB Playoff statement with Notre Dame bashing
Clemson football absolutely bashes Notre Dame, makes CFB Playoff statement
The Clemson football team absolutely blasted the No. 2-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday evening in the ACC Championship game, coming away with a 34-10 win.
With the victory, the Tigers locked up their sixth-straight ACC Championship and will certainly be selected as one of the four teams in the CFB Playoff when the selection committee announces its decision on Sunday.
Early on, things look interesting.
Notre Dame came out on a 6:44 drive to open the game that ended in a field goal and then the Irish defense came up with a big interception on the ensuing Clemson drive following a tipped passing attempt by Trevor Lawrence.
Just as it seemed the physicality of the Irish would make things tough on the Tigers, kicker Jonathan Doerer doinked a 24-yard field goal attempt off the field goal post and the rest of the first half would be dominated by Clemson football.
Lawrence found Amari Rodgers on a 61-yard touchdown pass with 0:41 left in the first quarter to take a 7-3 lead and that wouldn’t be the last time we’d see the Tiger offense reel off a big touchdown play.
Lawrence hit E.J. Williams on a 33-yard touchdown pass on the Tigers’ first drive of the second quarter to take a 14-3 lead and then B.T. Potter nailed a 27-yard field goal attempt to make it 17-3 with 4:28 left in the first half. The Tigers got the ball back with just 2:10 remaining in second quarter and they went on a 10-play, 88-yard drive that was capped off by a 44-yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne to take a 24-3 lead into halftime.
After the two teams traded punts for much of the start of the second half, Lawrence faked a toss to Etienne and blasted straight up the middle for a 34-yard touchdown rush to put Clemson football up 31-3 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.
Potter added another field goal with 10:31 left to put the Tigers up 34-3. Notre Dame’s Chris Tyree scored the team’s first touchdown on a 21-yard rush with 8:09 remaining to make it 34-10.
Stat Leaders & Analysis in the big-time win for Clemson football
Passing: Trevor Lawrence 25-of-36 for 322 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT.
Rushing: Travis Etienne 10 carries for 124 yards, 1 TD; Lawrence 14 carries for 90 yards, 1 TD.
Receiving: Amari Rodgers 8 receptions for 121 yards, 1 TD; E.J. Williams 4 receptions for 80 yards, 1 TD; Cornell Powell 4 receptions for 59 yards.
Analysis:
You absolutely have to give credit to this Clemson football team for the way they showed up, overcame a little bit of adversity at the beginning and then completely dominated the rest of the evening.
Notre Dame is a physical team and they were absolutely out-played in every facet of the game Saturday evening.
The Tigers got pressure on Ian Book and they shut down the Notre Dame running game. They finished the night with six sacks and held the Irish to just 44 yards on the ground.
Offensively, Trevor Lawrence’s balance on the ground and through the air made things nearly impossible for the Irish. Travis Etienne rushed for more than 100 yards and the offensive line played one of its most complete games of the season.
The biggest disappointment of the night was the targeting call on Nolan Turner midway through the fourth quarter. Turner will now be out for the first half of the Tigers’ CFB Playoff semifinal game.
dark. Next. Trevor Lawrence's legacy rests on these final appearances
In the end, Clemson came away with a dominant statement win over the Fighting Irish and there’s no doubt that this team is in ‘Championship Phase’ as we move towards New Year’s Day.