Keys to Victory: No. 1 Clemson at No. 4 Notre Dame

Each week we give you a look at the game's history, three keys to success, plus Swanny’s prediction.

The Match-Up:

No. 1 Clemson (7-0 overall, 6-0 ACC) vs. Notre Dame (6-0, 5-0 ACC)

Clemson vs. Notre Dame 2018

Series History:

Overall: Clemson leads: 3-1
at Clemson: Tied 1-1
at Notre Dame: 1-0
Neutral: Clemson leads 1-0
Last Meeting: 2018 (Clemson 30, Notre Dame 3) in the 2018 Cotton Bowl CFP Semifinal on Dec. 28, 2018
Last Notre Dame win: 1977 (Notre Dame 21, Clemson 17)
Streak: Clemson has won three consecutive meetings.

Stat of the Week:

Travis Etienne (434 yds) needing 70 receiving yards to break the Clemson record for receiving yards by a running back in a single season. C.J. Spiller presently holds the record with 503 receiving yards in 2009. 

Chasing History:

Top-ranked Clemson will seek its highest-ranked road win in school history against No. 4 Notre Dame in South Bend tonight. The two teams are playing the highest-ranked matchup of two ACC teams in conference history with a combined ranking of five. The previous highest combined ranking for a game between two ACC teams was eight, set five times, including No. 1 Clemson's win against No. 7 Miami (Fla) earlier this year.

Tonight’s game will be played 39 years to the date following the first time two ACC teams faced one another while ranked in the AP Top 10. That first intra-conference Top 10 matchup in ACC annals took place on Nov. 7, 1981, when No. 2 Clemson traveled to Chapel Hill to face No. 8 North Carolina. Clemson defensive end Jeff Bryant jumped on a lateral that many assumed to be an incomplete pass, clinching a 10-8 Clemson victory that led the Greenville News to proclaim, "Clemson is 10-8cious."

Key 1: Clean up on defense

Last weekend’s matchup with Boston College left something to be desired on defense through the first thirty-minutes of action. The Clemson secondary looked marginal at best, allowing Boston College to complete 8-12 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec looked like Matt Ryan at times in the first half, which is simply inexcusable.

Fortunately, the second half was much better for the Tigers, limiting the Eagles to 5-13 passing for 47 yards. It was a stark contrast but a bit of a red flag for Clemson fans witnessing one DB after the other being toasted.

Notre Dame’s Ian Book is much more capable than Jurkovec, but the Fighting Irish are limited in threats through the air on the outside-- unless the Clemson secondary from last Saturday boarded the plane to South Bend.

If the DBs play well for Clemson, it will allow the defensive line and linebackers to control a powerful Notre Dame rushing attack better.

Courtesy of ACC Media Portal

Clemson’s tight ends could become a catalyst to confidence for D.J. Uiagalelei.

Key 2: Keep it simple

D.J. Uiagalelei’s debut as a starter couldn’t have gone much better for the Bellflower, California native. While Clemson had the advantage of playing at home against an opponent like Boston College-- which doesn’t compare to the No. 4 ranked Irish, the true freshman still faced tremendous adversity after a 97-yard scoop & score from the Eagles defense put Clemson in a huge hole at home.

In the end, Clemson overcame an 18 point first-half deficit, making the win the Tigers’ largest home comeback victory in school history. Because of the situation, we believe Tony Elliott scaled the playbook back a bit, knowing that mistakes in the second half could be disastrous.

Uiagalelei has a cannon, and we certainly expect Clemson to open things up this weekend, but facing a Top 10 defense, it’s still best to simplify the game for a young player. 

With Frank Ladson scheduled to be back on the field, Clemson gains a huge threat they were missing last week. That should allow for more shots down the field, but we’d keep it as easy as possible for Uiagalelei. 

Look for tight ends Davis Allen and Braden Galloway to have a moment or two early on to keep the Irish defense honest as those two make a few plays that stand out this week as a safety valve for the young quarterback.

Key 3: Air ETN

Through three seasons at Clemson, Travis Etienne has been electric on the ground, rewriting record books in Tiger Town and the ACC. But this season, his final one in a Clemson uniform, he’s taken his game to another level adding pass cathing to his repertoire. So much so that today, he could set a new single-season record for receiving yards as a running back. 

While Clemson has struggled at times to run between the tackles, Etienne’s ability to catch the football is an added weapon and one we expect to see at times this evening in South Bend.

Prediction:

In recent history, there have been some incredibly memorable games played in Notre Dame Stadium featuring the No. 1 team in America. Whether it’s the 31-30 Irish in the “Catholics vs. Convicts” game against Miami in 1988 or the 1993 matchup between No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Notre Dame, another win for the home team, games like this have stood the test of time.

Most recently, in 2005, No. 1 Southern Cal escaped South Bend 34-31 over No. 9 Notre Dame, following a play still known as the “Bush Push” when Reggie Bush assisted Matt Leinart into the endzone with just seconds left in the contest, a play that was against the rules at the time but is now perfectly legal.

Tonight marks the 26th time the Fighting Irish will play the nation’s top-ranked team and the ninth time they’ve hosted No. 1. In those contests, the Irish are 8-16-1 overall with a 3-5 in the home contests.

Back to tonight, I expect Clemson’s offense to be much better than a week ago now that D.J. Uiagalelei has had a week to prepare for the starting spot. When Trevor Lawrence took over the starting role in 2018 after outplaying Kelly Bryant, few Tiger fans felt loads of concern about the move. The reason? Like temperature, the measurement was relative. It is the same situation here, except you’ve compared Uiagalelei to Lawrence, and that doesn’t leave you feeling better about the situation at quarterback. But, would you not feel better with Uiagalelei if he were replacing Bryant? Of course, you would-- and that’s the difference. 

The fact is, Clemson’s backup quarterback would be the starter at most schools, and there is a very good chance that he’s the best QB on the field tonight. (If you don’t count Lawrence, who will be standing on the sideline.) 

Clemson’s defense plays sharp, and Uiagalelei makes enough plays to frustrate a tough Notre Dame defense. 

Clemson 31, Notre Dame 20

Swanny’s Predictions: