First-Half Turnovers, Offensive Woes Cost Notre Dame in Death Valley
Notre Dame outgained Clemson by 44 yards on Saturday but couldn’t overcome a handful of costly mistakes — including three turnovers — and lost 31-23 in Death Valley.
This season, the Tigers (4-4) have made a habit of turning the ball over in key situations, especially in their four losses.
“The biggest thing we can't do is turn the ball over,” coach Marcus Freeman said. “We know we have to take care of the football. One of our things wanted to his game was we had to beat them in a turnover margin, and we didn't do that today.”
The 15th-ranked Fighting Irish (7-3) flipped this trend on its head and made a series of Clemson-like mistakes in the first 20 minutes, putting themselves in a deep hole that the offense couldn’t climb the team out of.
First, the Irish gave up just its third rush of more than 40 yards to Clemson running back Phil Mafah for an early touchdown.
On the next series, the Notre Dame defense forced a three-and-out, which inadvertently benefited the Tigers. Return man Chris Tyree lost the ball in the sun as it hit off his face mask and fell on the turf. Clemson long snapper Philip Florenzo recovered the ball at the Irish 22-yard line, which led to a 21-yard Clemson field goal.
Early in the second quarter, quarterback Sam Hartman dropped back with a chance to respond to a nine-play, 75-yard Tiger touchdown drive.
Instead, he threw a pick-six that put Clemson up 24-6 with 8:33 to go in the half.
“If you look at two plays: a pick-six and then the muffed punt,” Freeman said. “That's 10 points. You don't ever want to point your finger at just one or two individuals or certain plays, but that's the difference in winning and losing this game.”
The Irish responded with a 12-play, 60-yard drive but stalled out on first and goal at the Clemson 3-yard line, losing two yards and settling for a short field goal.
The Irish entered the locker room trailing 24-9 — the program’s largest halftime deficit since falling to Cincinnati in 2021.
Late-Game Offensive Woes
The Irish cut it to a one-score game twice in the third quarter and trailed 31-23 for the final 21 minutes.
Yet, the offense appeared anemic for the remainder of the contest.
On its final six drives, the Irish went three-and-out thrice and ran a total of 24 plays for 60 yards (2.5 yards per play), three first downs, a holding penalty and an interception.
Hartman was especially dreadful late. During those drives, he completed 5 of his 15 throws for 44 yards and an interception.
Overall, the signal-caller went 13-30 for 146 yards and two interceptions, including the pick-six. He also ran for 68 yards and a touchdown.
“Obviously, we can't throw a pick-six,” Freeman said. “You can't do that. I know he knows that. Now, he did some really, really good things, extending plays with his legs and running for first downs and touchdowns.”
It's his sixth loss to the Tigers in his collegiate career. That includes five as a starter, which puts him in rare company.
Notre Dame picked up 128 yards on 6.1 yards per carry in the first half, but the coaching staff felt the need to go away from the run later in the game.
“They've got a good defense,” Freeman said. “It's a top-10 defense that's extremely talented. They're getting pressure on the quarterback, they're covering well and stop the run. When we were trying to commit to the run game, they made adjustments.”
Road-Game Rushers
Notre Dame gave up more than 175 yards and at least one touchdown on the ground for the third road game in a row, which effectively negates the success of its top-five-rated pass defense.
Against Clemson, the Irish allowed 176 yards on the ground despite the Tigers losing their leading rush, Will Shipley, due to concussion protocol last weekend.
Most of Clemson’s rush yards came from running back Phil Mafah, who carried the ball 36 times for 186 yards and two scores.
“We did not do a good job of tackling him on first contact,” Freeman said. “That's something that surprised me. I thought our defense on first contact, would be able to make those tackles, but he did a good job of breaking some tackles and running the ball extremely hard.”
Stat of the Day
The Irish still forced two turnovers, including a momentum-changing interception by safety Xavier Watts at the start of the third quarter.
It’s the fifth pass he’s picked off in the last three games, giving him seven on the season.
He entered Saturday already leading the nation in interceptions.
Three other Fighting Irish players have picked off seven passes in a season this century:
- Shane Walton (2002)
- Harrison Smith (2010)
- Manti Te'o (2012)
Defensive back Mike Townsend holds the all-time single-season record with 10.
With two regular-season contests to go, plus a bowl game, Watts has a handful of opportunities to keep ascending the Notre Dame record books.
What’s Next?
The Irish will get a chance to regroup next weekend with their second bye of the season.
That should leave Notre Dame well-rested for its final regular-season games against Wake Forest (4-5) and at Stanford (2-6).
“We're 7-3 right now, and we got two opportunities to go out there and go compete,” Freeman said. “So, we've got to improve in these next two weeks. We've got to find a way to improve as a football team, schematically and as individuals.”
The biggest story heading into the matchup with the Demon Deacon will be Hartman’s chance to bounce back while facing his former team on Senior Day.