Clemson owns the ACC: Tigers dominate Notre Dame in title game; playoff up next
There is so much that is different about the 2020 college football season.
Games are being played in front of limited crowds, sometimes no crowds at all. COVID-19 is disrupting rosters and game schedules week in and week out. And Notre Dame, one of the top programs in the country, is playing this season in the ACC, instead of as an independent.
But with so much changing in 2020, one thing remains consistent: The ACC still runs through Clemson.
The third-ranked Tigers defeated No. 2 Notre Dame 34-10 Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium, clinching the Atlantic Coast Conference championship for the sixth consecutive year. Clemson also locked up its sixth-straight College Football Playoff berth with the win. The Tigers will learn their destination and opponent Sunday afternoon when the playoff selections are revealed at noon on ESPN.
“Our guys were at their best. Our staff did an amazing job. I don’t know that most people really can understand how hard it is to do what this team has done,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “It’s just special, and I’m humbled to be a part of it.”
The win for Clemson avenges November’s loss at Notre Dame. The Tigers lost 47-40 in double overtime on Nov. 7 in South Bend, playing without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
The Heisman candidate and several starting defenders who did not play in Round 1 were back Saturday night in Charlotte and made their presence felt.
“Everything we didn’t do in South Bend, we did tonight,” Swinney said. “We dominated the trenches on both sides of the ball. We did an unbelievable job. Just really proud of these guys.”
Lawrence finished with 322 yards passing, 90 yards rushing and three total touchdowns, and was named ACC championship game MVP. His 412 yards of total offense is second all-time in ACC title game history.
The junior has completed 69 percent of his passes and thrown for 2,753 yards, with 22 touchdowns and four interceptions entering the playoff. He’s also rushed for seven scores.
“It was awesome. Obviously I didn’t get to play in the first round with these guys. Just preparing these last two weeks getting ready was a lot of fun,” Lawrence said. “We knew we were prepared, but to go actually do it and perform well was awesome.”
Defensively, James Skalski and Tyler Davis were a part of a Clemson unit that held Notre Dame out of the end zone until the fourth quarter. Skalski and Davis both missed the game against the Irish last month. Skalski had five tackles, including a tackle for loss, while Davis added four tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Clemson led 24-3 at the half and controlled the game from the second quarter on. The Tigers had 339 yards of offense at halftime and finished with 541, while holding the Irish to 263.
Tigers star running back Travis Etienne had his first 100-yard rushing game since Oct. 10, carrying the ball 10 times for 124 yards.
Irish QB Ian Book completed 20 of 29 passes for 219 yards, but Notre Dame finished with only 44 rushing yards and averaged 1.5 yards per carry.
Clemson and Notre Dame are both 10-1 on the season. There’s a strong case that both will earn spots in the playoff.
“We did not have that consistency in performance that we had all year,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “And some of it is who we played today. We played an outstanding football team.
“There’s no doubt this football team is one of the best four teams in the country, and we’ll leave the rest up to the committee.”
With Alabama beating Florida in the SEC championship game Saturday night, Clemson is expected to be the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff and to play in the Rose Bowl. However, the College Football Playoff announced Saturday night that the Rose Bowl will be played in Dallas this year instead of Pasadena, California because family members and fans would not have been able to attend the game in Pasadena due to state and local regulations.
Etienne said after the win over Notre Dame that he wanted to see the game moved to somewhere his family members could attend.
“To me, it would be kind of weird, to say the least, to go all the way to California and not have my parents there watching me,” Etienne said. “It wouldn’t make sense to travel across the country and not be able to play in front of my mom and dad.”
Clemson vs Notre Dame box score, stats
First Quarter
ND—FG Doerer 51, 8:16.
CLE—Rodgers 67 pass from Lawrence (Potter kick), :41.
Second Quarter
CLE—E.Williams 33 pass from Lawrence (Potter kick), 9:24.
CLE—FG Potter 27, 4:28.
CLE—Etienne 44 run (Potter kick), :21.
Third Quarter
CLE—Lawrence 34 run (Potter kick), 3:43.
Fourth Quarter
CLE—FG Potter 37, 10:31.
ND—Tyree 21 run (Doerer kick), 8:09.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Clemson, Etienne 10-124, Lawrence 14-90, Mellusi 1-2, Mayers 1-2, Rencher 1-1. Notre Dame, K.Williams 15-50, Tyree 1-21, A.Davis 1-18, Flemister 1-(minus 4), (Team) 2-(minus 6), Book 10-(minus 35).
PASSING—Clemson, Lawrence 25-36-1-322, Uiagalelei 0-1-0-0, (Team) 0-2-0-0. Notre Dame, Book 20-28-0-219.
RECEIVING—Clemson, Rodgers 8-121, E.Williams 4-80, Powell 4-59, Galloway 3-15, Etienne 3-12, Mellusi 2-31, Chalk 1-4. Notre Dame, Mayer 5-51, Skowronek 4-54, McKinley 3-37, K.Williams 3-14, Tremble 2-41, A.Davis 2-15, Tyree 1-7.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Notre Dame, Doerer 24.
CLEMSON FOOTBALL 2020 SCHEDULE, GAME SCORES
Sept. 12: Clemson 37, Wake Forest 13
Sept. 19: Clemson 49, The Citadel 0
Oct. 3: Clemson 41, Virginia 23
Oct. 10: Clemson 42, Miami 17
Oct. 17: Clemson 73, Georgia Tech 6
Oct. 24: Clemson 47, Syracuse 21
Oct. 31: Clemson 34, Boston College 28
Nov. 7: Notre Dame 47, Clemson 40, 2 OT
Nov. 21: at Florida State CANCELED
Nov. 28: Clemson 52, Pitt 17
Dec. 5: Clemson 45, Virginia Tech 10
Dec. 19: Clemson 34, Notre Dame 10
This story was originally published December 19, 2020 at 7:20 PM.
