Game Thread | No. 1 Clemson at No. 4 Notre Dame

No. 1 Clemson (7-0, 6-0) at No. 4 Notre Dame (6-0, 5-0) 

Notre Dame Stadium | 7:30 p.m. ET | NBC

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Can Notre Dame Do It?

First of all as a college football fan, I’m grateful we are here. Undefeated Notre Dame hosting undefeated Clemson is what we all wanted and despite COVID doing its best to ruin it, we’re here. 

Notre Dame will get the opportunity to knock off the No. 1 team in the country on Saturday night as Clemson comes to South Bend. There’s not much to put here other than it's a must-win for Notre Dame for many reasons. 

We’ll skip the need to win a big game and head straight to the Fighting Irish should be able to beat a true freshman quarterback and a depleted defense if it’s a true College Football Playoff contender. It’s not about being competitive against a Trevor Lawrence led team, but it’s about beating a team being led by a true freshman quarterback to put itself in full control of a trip to Charlotte in December. 

2018 showed Notre Dame was there physically, but needed depth and a few more playmakers. Have the Irish made up the ground in the last two years? The good news for Notre Dame is they won’t be facing the monster Dabo Swinney rolled out in the Cotton Bowl, but are the Irish ready to position themselves with Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State? 

Clemson was in this spot in 2015 and got a win over Notre Dame after failing in big games season after season. Swinney and company haven’t looked back since that rainy night. Brian Kelly and Ian Book have the chance to do the same on Saturday.  

Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame QB Ian Book
All eyes will be on Book in a legacy game. He'll always be remembered as a winner at Notre Dame. What he does in this game will determine if he's remembered as a guy who can win the big one for the Irish.

Clemson RB Travis Etienne
The best back in college football. The best player? Maybe. Notre Dame has to contain him running the football and can't let him be a game-wrecker as a receiver.

Notre Dame DE Daelin Hayes
Coming off the best game of his career, he will need to play inspired again. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was barely pressured against Boston College. The pass rush will be critical in this game for the Irish.

Clemson DT Bryan Bresee
A 5-star true freshman who has made an immediate difference. He's a disruptive pass rusher who leads their team in pressures.

Notre Dame RB Kyren Williams
Can Williams provide the explosive plays that Notre Dame will need to score? They'll need him to, whether it's running or receiving. They'll also need him to continue to be money on 3rd and short.

Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame RB Kyren Williams:
“This is what we come to Notre Dame for. We come to Notre Dame to play top games like this - to play Clemson and the best teams in the nation. 

"We knew that coming in and from the beginning of the season that we were going to see Clemson. We're going to keep going and doing what we're doing."

Notre Dame C Jarrett Patterson:
"As soon as Coach (Tommy) Rees got the job of offensive coordinator, our first meeting early in spring, that was something he really harped on, being 100% on third-and-short. Quite frankly, we weren't up to that standard last year at all. We weren't even close. So that's one thing we talk a lot of pride in, especially knowing that in a game, third-and-3, third-and-4, Louisville with that third-and-5, coaches have that trust in us. That really means a lot to us.”

Notre Dame LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah:
“We're talking about playing Clemson. You have nerves, slip up and have mistakes to a good team, they'll take advantage of those mistakes. We want to make sure they understand this a big game for them and their transition to becoming a good player. We want to take the nervousness out to be free and play.

"I think Coach (Clark) Lea has done a great job with that putting together a scheme that doesn't allow for young players or inexperience players to be thinking constantly on the field rather than opening their minds and be free to play." 

Clemson OL Matt Bockhorst:
“Playing in the box and the front six, you better have your chinstrap buckled tight. That's the way I love to play. I love games like that. Notre Dame's backers fill downhill really hard. The two defensive tackles are stout guys. 41 (Kurt Hinish) is a fire hydrant. 

"You better come with your big boy britches on and ready to hit. I love playing in games like this. I'm excited." 

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly:
“We want to be who we are. We've defined through the first six weeks. We want to play a physical brand of football. That's who we are. We want to take shots down the field. We've got to get some 1-on-1 matchups to allow our bigger-bodied receivers and tight ends to be part of this offense. 

"At the end of the day, this is about four quarters of physical presence with our offense. That's kind of how we've played football this year. You don't start changing who you are at this time, so you can expect us to play physical. We have to make some plays on the perimeter with our receivers and tight ends, but this game is going to come down to our ability to win at the line of scrimmage." 

For Your Nerves