Clemson flew home early Sunday morning seriously licking their wounds as Notre Dame put together one of its most complete and physical dominations of a top ranked opponent in a very long time.

For the 1st half the weather was not cooperating for either passing game. Clemson in particular looked all out of sorts getting their run game bottled up and trying a bunch of horizontal throws to the perimeter. The Irish defense was swarming and their tackling was ferocious and on point. At the half, Clemson managed just 53 yards and barely threatened in Notre Dame territory.

On the other side of the ball, the Fighting Irish offensive line and running game were EATING.

Stats Package
STAT IRISH TIGERS
Score 35 14
Plays 64 65
Total Yards 348 281
Yards Per Play 5.43 4.32
Conversions 6/12 4/12
Completions 9 27
Yards/Pass Attempt 5.00 4.77
Rushes 47 25
Rushing Success 65.9% 47.3%
10+ Yds Rushes 11 6
20+ Yds Passes 0 1
Defense Stuff Rate 23.0% 15.8%

 

Notre Dame missed a field goal in the 1st half, otherwise I’m not sure there will be much to complain about in this game. The Irish run game (263 yards, 5.6 per rush, 2 TD, 17 first downs) utterly dominated and the defense played fantastically to the point where I’m confident in saying Clemson got lucky to avoid a shutout.

Bad losses to Marshall and Stanford–who knows how to make sense of those moments now. On this Saturday night, Notre Dame reached a peak it rarely has touched and boy did it feel good. It has to feel amazing for Marcus Freeman after a rough start to his coaching career.

Offense

QB: B
RB: A
TE: A
OL: A+
WR: B

It was easy to forget the game didn’t start off very well for the Irish offense. The team was successful on just 1 out of their first 5 runs, Pyne was sacked on the first 3rd down of the game, and they punted 3 times before missing a field goal on the 4th drive. They’d shake it off.

However, up until this point Notre Dame was averaging 3.69 yards per play and Clemson was sitting at just 2.60 yards per play–there was a small inkling that the Irish were more comfortable and prepared for a physical game relying on running the ball.

The dam felt like it broke on Notre Dame’s final possession of the 1st half where running back Audric Estime was dominant on 5 runs and the drive was capped off by a nice 10-yard run from Pyne, an 11-yard completion to Mayer, and Pyne keeping the ball for a 5-yard touchdown.

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The run game doesn’t have the pass game to take the pressure off! 

With the wind causing havoc and defense playing mighty fine, this 14-0 lead felt much larger.

With the conditions, Pyne was bound to struggle in the first half. Overall, he played okay but really needed to hit the open pass to Michael Mayer in the late 3rd quarter for a touchdown. That would’ve made it 21-0 and Pyne would’ve finished the game on 7 of 8 passing for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns. Add in his 3 successful runs and this missed throw truly changes the narrative.

Rushing Success

Diggs – 10 of 16 (62.5%)
Estime – 14 of 18 (77.7%)
Tyree – 2 of 7 (28.5%)
Pyne – 3 of 3 (100%)

This was one of the best games for a Notre Dame offensive line in program history, I am comfortable saying that much. On 6 drop backs, the passing game did not convert a single 3rd down opportunity. Yet, Pyne was only sacked once (on the opening drive) and the line kept protecting well while paving the way for a huge day on the ground. Credit to the tight ends and receivers, who were often shifted into a tight formation, for blocking so well, too.

Despite no conversions through the air, the run game converted SIX times, including moving the chains on 3rd & medium/long on half of those conversions.

Running back Logan Diggs started slow (he got those first 5 carries) then finished the game with success on 9 out of his final 11 carries. When Audric Estime came into the game, the offense seemed to change and he completed an absolute dominant performance from start to finish. It was the big tailback who converted 5 third downs on the ground, an unbelievable night with the ball in his hands.

Defense

DL: A
LB: B+
DB: B+

This game maybe looks a little different if it wasn’t so windy and Clemson’s offense had a bit more success through the air which allowed them a little more balance. However, DJU was constantly harassed (sacked 4 times) and out of their first 9 full drives, only 2 made it into Notre Dame territory and those ended with a bit of a reckless turnover on downs at the Irish 38-yard line, plus a pick six.

Look at coach Mickens’ face, though. 

Certainly, true freshman Benjamin Morrison announced himself to the entire country on Saturday. He finished with 7 tackles, 4 solo stops, a pass-break up, and 2 interceptions including the aforementioned pick six which extended Notre Dame’s lead to 28-0. That should sew up a freshman All-American season with so many people watching NBC.

Clemson actually ran the ball pretty well overall but simply could not sustain any drives without much help from the passing game. DJU relied on a lot of throws to the sidelines or underneath, and the Irish tackled so well leading to just 177 yards on 44 plays for Clemson coming off that Morrison pick six.

Stuffs vs. Clemson

Bertrand – 4.5
Foskey – 2
NaNa – 1
Rubio – 1
Bracy – 1
Hart – 1
Jayson A. – 1
Cross – 1
Justin A. – 0.5
Liufau – 0.5
Morrison – 0.5

By then, with 12:58 remaining in the 4th quarter the game was effectively over.

Thanks to some generous help from the referees, Clemson scored their first touchdown after 3 quick calls against the Irish. They also followed that up with another long touchdown drive. A bit annoying overall, but this was garbage time complete with Clemson dumping the ball off consistently and wasting time with no chance of winning.

Final Thoughts

I wonder how many Notre Dame games in history have witnessed both a blocked punt touchdown and pick six?

The Irish now move to 4-22-0 all-time when unranked against top 5 opponents at the time of the game. Those other 3 wins included: Pitt (1982), Oklahoma (1957), and Minnesota (1937). Both Oklahoma and Minnesota would finish in the top 5 those seasons, while Pitt would finish no. 10 in the AP Poll after previously being no. 1 when they played Notre Dame.

Where will Clemson finish this season ranked? They end 2022 with 3 home games against Louisville, Miami, and South Carolina and will likely face North Carolina in the ACC Championship.

With a do-over, I bet Notre Dame tries to run the ball twice from 3rd & 10 at the Clemson 24-yard line instead of settling for a field goal attempt in that blustery wind.

What has happened to Lorenzo Styles? He has 5 catches for 32 yards over the last 4 games and has dropped (I believe) 4 more targets thrown to him in recent weeks.

Sideline official must be a ND fan, look at the shame in his eyes after Styles’ drop. 

Clemson’s weapons in the passing game did not look very threatening. It’ll be interesting to see how Swinney handles the quarterback issue to close out this season and into 2023. He certainly didn’t do his freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik any favors in South Bend!

I didn’t realize DJU started the game going 7 of 7 through the air. That only netted 33 yards and just a single first down, though.

JD Bertrand (team-leading 12 tackles, 9 solo stops, 1 sack, 2 TFL, and 4.5 stuffs) played perhaps his best game of his career.

Michael Mayer’s late touchdown broke Ken MacAfee’s school record for scores by a tight end. The Kentuckian has now completely re-wrote the entire record book at Notre Dame.

How did it become so difficult for opponents to block Notre Dame when they are punting? It’s some serious Brian Mason magic!

I know that he lost his sister earlier this year and it must be weighing on him heavily, plus he’s constantly dealt with injuries. Former no. 1 overall recruit defensive tackle Bryan Bresee just does not look like the same player anymore when he was super quick and agile at his size. He was invisible against the Irish on Saturday night.

A difference in stuff rate by 7% when Notre Dame ran the ball 22 more times is absolutely massive.

Notre Dame *should* head to Los Angeles on November 26th at 8-3 on the season. If they can take care of business it would be one heck of a turnaround. The Marshall game review was discussing a 3-win season and firing Marcus Freeman in December just 56 days ago!