Clemson and Notre Dame Preparing for Old School Battle on Saturday
Clemson. Notre Dame.
It’s a game that hasn’t been played much, but the two teams are also pretty familiar with each other after playing against each other in high-stakes games over the last few years.
The Tigers won the National Title game in 2018, but multiple Clemson players said the playoff game against Notre Dame was the most physical game of the season. In 2020, the two programs met twice in a month as Notre Dame knocked off then No. 1 ranked Clemson in South Bend and then the Tigers beat the Irish soundly in Charlotte in the ACC Championship Game.
And who could forget the 2015 game that was played in a tropical storm.
Physicality has been the name of the game in these matchups and regardless of who wins, both programs will feel the physical contest in the days to follow Saturday’s clash inside Notre Dame Stadium.
“There is no secret what their identity is,” stated head coach Dabo Swinney. “You can either match that or you can’t. They’ve played eight games. You have a style of play at this point. They are a physical group. It will be a physical game. No secret there.”
Notre Dame’s trio of running backs has caught the attention of Dabo Swinney and while Chris Tyree’s speed is a concern, Clemson is preparing for the power of Audric Estime and Logan Diggs.
Estime leads the Irish in carries (99), rushing yards (558) and rushing touchdowns (8), but Diggs isn’t far behind as he’s tallied 431 yards and one score on 95 carries this fall.
"They do what they do,” explained Swinney. “There are a million ways to get to it, but boom, there's the power. End of the day, that's what's coming. It’s the swap zone. But they do a really good job creativity-wise as far as how they get to those things. A million ways to do it, but when the ball is snapped, here comes the power right at you. You have to be able to fit it all up against all their different looks, alignments and motions. They do a really nice job, a good package.”
Notre Dame All-American offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson has led the charge in turning around the Irish rushing attack and knows Clemson poses perhaps the biggest test of the year as the Tigers have a two-deep full of NFL talent.
”It’s great to play against a really good opponent,” stated Patterson. “Their defensive line is going to expose any little weakness you have because they’re so talented. It’s really emphasized during the week working on that weakness you have in practice, so come Saturday, it’s corrected and you can play at your best when your best is needed.”
Wes Goodwin might be in his first year as the defensive coordinator, but he’s very familiar with the Irish as he’s on his second stop at Clemson and has been there since 2018.
The Tigers defense has heard Goodwin preach physicality this week in practice as stopping the Irish run game will be crucial in stopping the Notre Dame offense.
"First and foremost, you better have a physical mindset on Saturday night. That's the No. 1 thing. Our guys have to show up with the right mindset, a big-boy football, bring-your-pads, let's-go-to-work mindset.
“Structurally, you have to help your guys out with pre-snap alignments. Those guys want to stay in their double teams, so you have to do a good job of getting them off their double teams, and once you get them off the double teams, you have to win your 1-on-1 matchup. It's old-school football.”
Goodwin continued.
"Their physicality in the run game,” Goodwin said. “You know what you have to stop: the run game and the ball is going to No. 87 (tight end Michael Mayer). Those three backs all have about the same number of carries. So it'll be a challenge to stop the run game. In the passing game, No. 87 has all the targets. Physicality up front."
The message has been much of the same from Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Notre Dame was physical up front against Ohio State, but didn’t finish the job. Saturday presents a chance to show progress against perhaps the best defensive line in college football.
“We have a lot of respect for Clemson,” explained Rees. “They’re a tremendous group on defense. They’re extremely talented up front and have good players at all three levels. We want to play a physical brand of football. We’ve played Clemson before and we know they play a physical brand of football. It’ll be a great opportunity for us in a big game. Again, a ton of respect for that whole crew over there and the way they play defense and the personnel they have.”
When it comes to the Irish defense, Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter sees a veteran group and, you guessed it, that plays physically.
“A lot of seniors on defense,” explained Streeter. “In saying that, they're smart and understand their jobs, so they're in the right spot. They don't give up many big plays. They're a tough, physical group and that's always been the case when you play Notre Dame. They run to the ball well. There's not a guy on defense you can try to focus on and pick on because they're all good players."
Clemson coming off a bye week wasn’t lost on Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden. The Tigers will be fresher, but it’s much more than facing a fresh team.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei (6’4, 235) presents issues throwing (1,803 yards/17 touchdowns) and in the run game as he’s rushed for 350 yards and four touchdowns.
Clemson’s running back stable is similar to Notre Dame’s as they have three quality backs led by sophomore Will Shipley, who has rushed for 739 yards and 10 touchdowns.
”It is,” Golden said when asked if physicality was important this week. “They’re coming off a bye week, so you’re going to have to match their freshness and their speed. There’s really three running backs - you see mostly Ship and 26 (Phil Mafah) a lot, but there’s three. There’s two quarterbacks and obviously, when Dj’s in there, that’s a big man to try and bring down.
“He’s a great challenge for us. At any time that it looks like a run, it can turn into a play-action with him back there. A lot of respect for the way they conduct the offense and the talent pool they have.”
It would probably be expecting too much to say Notre Dame vyper Jordan Botelho could be the x-factor, but the junior is coming off two sacks against Syracuse. Botelho will be the most physical player on the field on Saturday and Golden hopes his growth continues against the Tigers.
“At the end of the day, if he doesn’t demonstrate it in practice, you don’t have trust and he doesn’t have confidence,” stated Golden. “Right now, we have trust and he has confidence, so it’s manifesting itself on the field. It resulted in two sacks the other day.
“There isn’t a person in this building that’s not happy for Jordan Botelho. Unselfish move to go to vyper in the summer and he’s now seeing it through and really starting to help our team in addition to what he’s doing on special teams. Very, very happy with that and excited for him.”
If Botelho isn’t the most physical player on the field for Notre Dame, it might be linebacker Marist Liufau, who is more than ready for a classic old school battle.
”Yeah, it makes me excited for sure.”
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