Notre Dame, Hartman Boast Recent Success vs Vaunted Clemson Defense

Quarterback Sam Hartman’s past performances against ACC programs at Wake Forest have correlated to failures while donning the blue and gold.

Over the prior two seasons, he recorded six turnovers against North Carolina State, seven against Louisville and four against Pitt. 

In nine starts at Notre Dame, the historically turnover-prone Hartman has only coughed up the ball against those three opponents.

The signal-caller put the ball on the ground twice against the Wolfpack, with the Irish losing one. He turned the ball over five times at Louisville and tossed two interceptions in the first quarter last weekend against Pitt. 

On Saturday, we’ll see if this trend continues, but this time in a way that benefits the Irish. 

In his last two games against Clemson, Hartman went 47-72 (65.3%) for 649 yards and seven scores compared to one interception. 

That includes throwing six touchdowns in a 51-45 double-overtime loss last year. 

“That guy shouldn't be playing college football,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “He's pro. He is smooth. Always. He's very confident. He doesn't flinch. And I've seen him for 10 years now. So I got a real good understanding of who he is and a lot of respect for him.”

Of course, Hartman is in a new offense at Notre Dame, so there’s little use in designing a game plan based on his past successes against Clemson.

“Does it help Sam, and does it help your psyche when you have success and you finally hit a shot on a basketball court? Hell yeah,” offensive coordinator Gerad Paker said. “It feels good when it goes in, but it has nothing to do with the next one. 

“We’re going to ride good waves, and good feelings go a long way, too. We understand that, but the biggest way we find confidence is to continue to execute at a high level.”

However, the end result of those games never turned out Hartman’s way, even if he played well. Hartman has yet to defeat Clemson.

“Being 0-5 is probably on the other side of that scale,” Hartman said. “I think it's a new year. I think we're going down in a hostile environment playing a really, really good football team.”

Notre Dame, on the other hand, knows what it's like to celebrate a comfortable victory against the Tigers. 

In 2022, the Irish beat down Clemson 35-14 at home. Notre Dame ran for 263 yards and two scores despite no down-the-field passing threat. Then-quarterback Drew Pyne went 9-17 for 85 yards and a touchdown. 

The 2023 edition of Clemson may be off to a 4-4 start. Still, the Tigers are actually better on defense compared to the prior version, even after losing first-round NFL Draft picks in defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and defensive end Myles Murphy. 

Clemson ranks 6th out of 133 FBS programs in total defense, giving up 266.9 yards per game. 

What’s more impressive is that the Tigers are strong in multiple defensive facets. They allow 167.8 yards per game through the air (9th) and 99.1 yards on the ground (16th).

In fact, Clemson has actually outgained three of its opponents in three out of its four losses.

Once again, it’s a defense predicated on wreaking havoc. The Tigers record 7.6 tackles for loss per game (T-14).

“I think the first one is their ability to apply pressure with a four-man front,” Parker said. “That’s No. 1. They’re gifted enough to apply pressure with four. You can see—a compliment to him and his staff; there aren’t a lot of repeats for when you see something hits. If it hits and try it again, they’ve taken care of it and fixed it, which I think is the ultimate compliment to a staff.”

On Saturday, Hartman and the Notre Dame offense will get the chance to prove it can play well against Clemson once again. 

If they can, odds are the Irish will leave victorious, putting themselves in a prime position to win 10 regular-season games and possibly go to a New Year’s Six bowl.

“It'd mean a lot for our program,” Hartman said. “I think I can look back at some point with my parents, who live in South Carolina and have a little bit of that glory. But it's a huge, huge step for this program, this team, and what we want to do at the end of the year. So, that's really the main focus.”

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