GAME THREAD | No. 4 Clemson at Notre Dame

No. 4 Clemson (8-0) at Notre Dame (5-3)  

Notre Dame Stadium | 7:30 p.m. ET | NBC | Clemson -4.0 | O/U: 44.0

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ANOTHER MEASURING STICK 

Notre Dame fell 21-10 to Ohio State earlier this year and while there was disappointment with the loss there was also hope as the Irish could have easily left Columbus with a win. Saturday will be another one of those tests to see how far Marcus Freeman’s team has come since the week one loss. 

It starts and ends on offense with Notre Dame. Can Tommy Rees find a way to run the ball again one of the nation’s top run defenses? Can Rees and quarterback Drew Pyne find a way to be productive in the passing game? There is no question the run game has improved greatly since the 0-2 start, but can the Irish run the ball against a playoff contender when they know it’s coming? Can someone outside of Michael Mayer make a big play in the passing game? 

Defensively, Notre Dame will need to stop Will Shipley first and foremost. He’ll get a big run or two, but the Irish can’t let him control the game. It’s probably a tall task to ask the Irish to hold Shipley to 18 carries for 28 yards as they did with Travis Etienne in 2020, but the Irish can’t get gashed five yards at a time. If DJ Uiagalelei throws for 439 yards again, then so be it. 

And like most games this year, Notre Dame will likely need to win this one ugly. That means more big plays on special teams and forcing a few turnovers, but also managing the ups and downs of the offense. 

Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame OL Joe Alt
Alt has taken a big step as a sophomore and has developed into one of the best young tackles in the country. This is a game where he'll get a chance to cement his status of being even better than that. His battles with Clemson's edge rushers will be must-watch.

Clemson RB Will Shipley
The former top recruiting target for the Irish is on his way to a 1,000 yard season. He's bigger and stronger than he was last year and is breaking more tackles because of it. The Irish defense can't let him get loose for any explosive runs.

Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison
Teams have gone at the true freshman and he's done an admirable job, but he's likely to see more deep targets this week than any other time this season. Clemson loves to throw the deep ball and the Irish will need him to win as many 50/50 balls as possible.

Clemson DE Myles Murphy
A likely first round pick next spring, Murphy leads Clemson in sacks and tackles for loss. He's one of many defensive linemen they have that can blow up a play all by himself. 

Notre Dame RB Audric Estime
The time of possession battle is going to be huge for Notre Dame. They are 5-0 when they win it and 0-3 when they lose it. They can win it if Estime is having a monster game. Notre Dame needs to control the football and it starts with the big boys up front and then can get punctuated by Estime and Logan Diggs.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman:
"What we got to do is focus on things it takes to play well. No matter who the opponent is, we have to truly focus on what it takes to deserve a victory and what it takes to execute throughout the entirety of a game. We can't let the opponent dictate our ability to focus and execute.” 

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney:
“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 offensive coordinator Tommy 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.” 

Notre Dame offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson
“Sunday, I was kind of thinking about that. Man, it's already November. It just felt like yesterday we were all in training camp together grinding and now we have four weeks of the regular season left and that's it.”

For Your Nerves 

Notre Dame Fighting Irish 7' Inflatable Santa