Two years ago, Brian Kelly said ND was closer than you thought to beating Clemson. He was mostly branded a wishful thinker.
He was right.
Notre Dame proved that Saturday, stopping the 4th-longest regular season winning streak in college football history and beating back Clemson 47-40 in a win that sealed, once and for all, that Brian Kelly can win a big one.
Good luck getting coherent writing out of me, but here were a few big takeaways from a win that changes everything for this program.
Ian Book proved himself
I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t think Ian Book was going to get it done on that last drive in regulation. I was having Georgia flashbacks from 2019 myself. But Book looked like the veteran and star he is, dropping a long-bomb dime to a single-covered Avery Davis, then finding Davis again on a short toss to the end zone for the tying touchdown as time was running out.
Book, carrying the offense on his back for the bulk of the second half and the overtimes, delivered time after time, making clutch third-down throws. Against a Clemson D-line that did a reasonable job applying pressure, Book wasn’t sacked once. He ran for 68 yards. He threw for 310. His fumble in the red zone was almost disastrous – but it’s just a footnote now.
Brian Kelly has told us over and over Ian Book is a winner. Tonight he showed it on the biggest stage of 2020.
Early breaks were huge
A running subplot, to my mind, in these battles with the best in college football the past few years is that Notre Dame hasn’t gotten the early breaks necessary to get a wave of momentum going. Clemson’s near-fumbled kickoff in the 2018 Cotton Bowl seemed like just such a missed opportunity.
But tonight ND got those breaks. They made one of their own when Kyren Williams burst 65 yards for a score on ND’s first play from scrimmage, and they got a break when Travis Etienne fumbled the ball directly into charging bull Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah’s waiting arms for a touchdown later in the half. Those scores were massive in building a cushion for when Clemson made their inevitable resurgence.
Yes, ND sucked in the red zone. But check out the defense
Yes, it’s weird to talk about Notre Dame’s defense when they gave up 40 points and the all-time record for passing yards by an opponent.
Drive after drive, though, the Irish came up with enough red-zone stops of their own to make up for their offense’s 2015-esque inability to punch in red-zone chances.
This probably wasn’t Clark Lea’s best performance as defensive coordinator. But it was his clutchest. Notre Dame allowed 28 rushing yards to Travis Etienne, only one of the best running backs in college football history. Clemson had 34 total rushing yards on 33 attempts – about three feet per try.
That’s grown man football, homes.
Spare me any Trevor Lawrence excuses
Trevor Lawrence is a great player. Not having him sucks. But this is football, and this is COVID football. You get COVID, them’s the breaks. Notre Dame was without their two best wide receivers tonight due to injury, and no one would’ve mentioned that if the Irish lost.
More to the point, DJ Uiagalelei is the freaking goods. Did you know he threw for more yards today than any Notre Dame opponent in history? Lawrence is the better player, but it seems very hard to believe he would’ve had a much better game. Uiagalelei missed a couple of throws, but he also made some freaking impressive tosses. He’s a great player – more talented than Book. Clemson wasn’t running out some JV high schooler. He would’ve started for well over 100 teams today. Including ours, probably.
This win changes the narrative, but you knew that
For the entirety of the Kelly Era, Notre Dame has not quite been taken seriously in these games. With good reason, they’ve been considered a notch below the best.
Now, this win by itself doesn’t mean ND is now part of a Big 4 with Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State. If one win did that, Syracuse and Purdue and Auburn would be in the elite class as well.
But it shows that Notre Dame has it in them to beat the best. And most importantly of all, it shows the next generation of recruits that you can beat the best here. Who knows what December or (hopefully) January holds, but the Irish can beat the best. They just showed it.
I’m not putting Alabama or whoever on notice by saying that.
The Irish just did that themselves.
Awesome writeup Andy.
Ian Book had 91 yards with 1:54 left down 7 and scored in the exact circumstance he hasn’t before. Was perfect enough in OT. Avery Davis is a legend to go through all the switches they put him through, and still came out clean on the other side. So happy for him.
Defense bottled up Etienne all night.
Daelin Hayes can do more than rush against a bad team. Heart personified.
DJ U. is the absolute real deal.
But so is Owusu-Koramoah. Let’s go Irish!
I don’t want to destroy your narrative on such a joyous occasion, but let’s not forget the gutsy drive Book led last year against VaTech in the closing 2 minutes. He HAS led last minute drives for crucial scores before.
Right, that wasn’t to say it was Book’s first time, but Notre Dame was also a 17.5 point favorite against Virginia Tech. And Virginia Tech is Virginia Tech.
A last minute drive over Clemson is a different stratosphere for Book, who before this his career was probably defined by losses.
If Book continues to throw the ball downfield like he did tonight we can beat anyone anywhere. That would turn him from a top-20 QB to a top-10 one. And with our big receivers/TE’s downfield – good luck covering them.
Avery Davis big all game. Darlin Hayes with a huge sack at the end. Crawford with an insane breakup. And Book for coming in clutch. Couldn’t be happier for this team.
Don’t forget Michael Mayer. After a couple disastrous mistakes, he didn’t panic and made some huge contributions later in the game. Only a freshman, what a player.
One more hour and I’m going to have to see my doctor.
Who was #12, what have you done with Book?
Biggest difference in my opinion is we looked like we belonged on both sides of the ball. We weren’t consistently beat play after play.
What a beautiful game, and what a great writeup with a quick turnaround.
As you get at, despite giving up 40, I really think we won this on defense – basically every non-corner played a very good to great game. Shayne Simon, who up to this point I would have said was easily the worst starter on the team, looked like a future All-American last night. Hopefully that’s a Bilal-like switch-flip.
Also, there is a little room for improvement for next time/the ACCCG – hopefully Lenzy will give us an option to stretch them deep more, plus our corner play was pretty awful and almost has to improve because it can’t get much worse.
Huzzah!
Your point about Shayne Simon… I agree 100%. He was tipping balls, making plays in the run game; I am not sure where this Shayne Simon came from, but I sure would like him to stay around for this season and next. Big props to him showing up in the big moment, and not giving up even when the buck position was shared amongst three.
I’ve been livid that Simon was playing at all.
I was wrong, at least for a week.
KG — how you been??
More or less good. Back in the US since August, haven’t left the apartment for more than necessary since I did my 2 weeks of quarantine in a hotel. Life in 2020, man.
Yep. I am locked down again, with my cat. And three jobs, all on line, all a bear to do. But that makes me luckier than a ton of others. Great to see all your posts, bro!
You guys think you have it bad? I know a guy that had Covid , then lost his job last week and is going to be evicted in January.
That is a very good point. I’ve been critical of Simon too, he just hasn’t done much out there this season. But he really elevated his game last night and was making a difference out there. Good on him! It will be interesting to see if this is the start of a new and better portion of his career or a blip on the radar. Hopefully it’s just the beginning!
The reality is that against elite offenses (even minus Trevor Lawrence), giving up 33 in regulation is a win in today’s CFB.
Simon was crazy. Never saw that coming. Daelin Hayes as well the last 2 games has really stepped up, enough that people are talking about him nationally which I never would have thought of.
I would like to officially nominate Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s TD for play of the year. Just incredible.
Additionally, maybe an honorable mention for Bramblett tackling Etienne.
Etienne bobbled that pitch because of JOK’s instincts and athleticism that put him in the backfield so quickly….you ain’t kiddin, what a play!!
I’m wondering if someone smarter than me (literally any of you) can speak to the in-game injuries near the end of the game.
It looked to me like Clemson players were dropping like flies while Notre Dame players were still flying all over the field. I had the thought that not so many years ago, in hard fought games like this, it was our players that would not have enough strength and conditioning to finish out a game like this.
While I hate seeing any player get hurt, it made me proud of our program to have the stamina they often lacked in years past.
I thought that as well – it flips the narrative. I think we had McKinley go down with a head injury in the first or second overtime, but besides that, it was Clemson’s players succumbing to the length of the game. Small sample size aside, maybe this is a new pattern that will take hold within the program
You’re not wrong. It’s not just stamina, there’s a physicality to this team. ND beats the crap out of you. They’re big and fast and nasty, especially in the lines. Sampson’s article interviewing other ACC coaches about ND this past week had a lot of similar comments. Sure you don’t want to see injuries for anyone, but it was pretty clear to me that it wasn’t freak stuff. ND beat the crap out of Clemson, physically. And that’s what you have to do when you don’t have the same skill talent. Clemson isn’t exactly a “finesse” team like a Mike Leach squad. They’ve got dudes. But ND beat. them. up. And it was beautiful.
Team has changed since ND hired their S&C coach , Matt Balis.
Absolutely. But I think the team has had some continuity too, in the players. You see it where guys on this O-line played with McGlinchey and Q Nelson and learned just how to beat people down. Same with the D. Nasty.
I think there’s something to it, too. Notre Dame looked like a more physical team out there. Probably helps that the Clemson o-line is their least impressive group and they had a few key defensive injuries, but so it goes. Always awesome to out-rush the #1 team in the country 208-34 on the day. That’s a huge statement
Also, IMO, the mental toughness and resiliency to keep going was impressive too. There was about 4 times in the fourth quarter of OT1 when I thought ND would surely lose. But they hung tough and kept going. Earlier ND teams haven’t found that extra steadiness to finish it out.
Yeah… that’s exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.
That was one of the greatest games I have ever seen. Extremely well played by both teams. I haven’t been so psyched at the final whistle since the snow game against Penn State in the early 90’s.
I was at that snow game! Also at the snow game against Tennessee. Much prefer the PSU/Clemson outcome.
HOLY. SHIT.
MY VOICE IS SHATTERED.
MY HEAD IS POUNDING.
I MAY NOT FEEL OK UNTIL WEDNESDAY.
ITS ALL WORTH IT.
GO IRISH.
Tommy Rees just coached circles around what is supposed to be the best DC in college football.
Speaking of which, Clark Lea is the best DC in college football.
I think Tommy’s got more in the tank. Tremble has almost seemed hidden as a receiver since the first game. We could be hitting him on seam routes all night. Hope to see the playbook expand some more.
I think so too. They didn’t have Lenzy for jet sweeps and reverses and didn’t use Tyree much either. And I don’t recall many screen passes either which he loves to dial up, and Clemson was blitzing a lot too. I’d say ND should has a lot of new wrinkles to bring out next time.
On that pass to Skronek at the 4 yd. line late in the game, Tremble was uncovered right down the middle. Book never saw him.
I think he had a lot of pressure on that one up the middle didn’t he? But you are right Tremble was standing all alone.
Yes there was a Lineman charging hard up the middle. I think Book’s height hinders him often in the pocket. That play maybe being an example.
Yeah I was afraid that would come back to haunt us, like Book missing an open Kmet at the end of the Georgia game last year. Fortunately not!
Random thoughts:
Trevor Lawrence being out isn’t an excuse, but in a game that came down to overtime, his experienced talent could have made the difference vs. DJU’s raw talent. He likely hits #3 down near the ND goal line when DJU throws it behind him, and he might not get just bowled over on that last series in 2OT.
But that’s all extreme speculation. DJU played exceptionally well and made no egregious mistakes that cost Clemson the game, and statistically not only did he throw for more ever than on any ND defense, but he threw for more than Lawrence ever did in one game. What I fear many pundits will lose in the hype is that it’s never a good thing for your team (unless it’s a Mike Leach team) if your QB HAS to throw for that much.
Related: The best RB in the game right now, the ACC’s all-time leading rusher, had 28 yards. Twenty-Eight. And was almost obliterated by Wu, and was tackled by a punter in the open field.
Everyone’s going to talk about Clemson’s missing pieces. No one will mention that ND expected to have 2 deep threats at WR at this point, instead of 2 smaller TEs playing WR (Skowronek and McKinley) and a converted QB-RB-CB-no wait he’s a slot WR. I dearly hope this gives them some confidence to go with the brass sets of balls they showed last night, and they can develop some more before Charlotte.
ND may be a 7 pt underdog in Charlotte. I can see saying tOSU or Bama still being better, from the “neutral field” take. But no one has a better win than ND does, and we made enough mistakes and left points on the field enough that you can’t explain this away as a fluke. This isn’t Pitt or Syracuse catching Clemson unaware. This was a statement that hell yes, we belong in this conversation. It doesn’t mean we’ll win in Charlotte, or that we’d win in the playoffs. I think we still have work to do.
But ND announced it was taking a place at the table, and talk about what Clemson was missing all you want, that was big boy football, and Clemson is really lucky they have a bye this coming week.
Also, been a rough 2020 and I hope you’re all hanging in there. Haven’t been around much outside the game threads but happy to have such a wonderful reason to be back reading the comments here for a bit.
KG,
By the time the game ended for me it was 6 in the morning, so I missed all of these posts. I am sorry about 2020 — kind of a sucky year for a lot of us actually, but anyway, I’m sorry to hear — and it’s great to read your comments, straight on perceptive as always!
I don’t think people have downplayed our win at all. What I’ve noticed is that they think it elevates us that even if we were to lose to Clemson in the ACC champ – we’d have a legit shot to make the playoffs as the 2nd ACC team.
Also, a lot of variables here, but it sure seems like we figured out something about Clemson’s alleged sign-stealing. Kelly certainly seems to think so.
The huddling up with a wristband was brilliant. Also after the game JOK said they knew the pitch to Etienne was coming. Not sure if it was a formation thing or if we were able to pick up their signs, but hell of a job by our coordinators. Really fantastic day for this coaching staff.
Wow, we really outcoached the best for once! Hopefully Lea stays around another year or two. Rees is likely to stay longer time because he’s so young and has so little experience under his belt.
If anybody is friends with a Clemson fan, please ask them if any RB has ever picked up their blitzes better than Kyren Williams. I cannot imagine how he possibly had the energy left at the end of the game to score that TD; he was absolutely brilliant in pass blocking, taking on free rusher after free rusher. The O Line is rightly going to be praised for this game, and Book is going to get credit for being incredible every single time they got pressure. But man, Williams’ blocking may have been the key to this game. Rees keeping him in to block so frequently (and trusting him to actually make 1-on-1 blocks) was perfection.
And those incredible blocks were against Clemson players.
I’ve seen multiple comments on Clemson’s SBN site that complimented Williams’ awesome blitz pickups.
What is really incredible is the size differential, and yet, he was taking these guys on. For reference, watch the sidelines next game, when you see him standing next to his OLine. Those guys are probably a little bigger than the guys he was taking on, but not by much. He looks tiny next to the OLine guys.