In the first three weeks of the season, 10th-ranked Clemson played a Wofford team that had no chance of winning the game, an App State team that athletically could not compete and a Louisville team that has lost its confidence and isn’t living up to expectations.
The results: three wins.
“We are 3-0, that’s exactly where we wanted to be,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.
But can the Tigers be where they want to be on Oct. 4? Still undefeated and right in the middle of all the College Football Playoff talk.
To do that they must first get past their stiffest challenge to date … No. 6 Notre Dame in Death Valley on Oct.3. But this isn’t an FCS foe or a former FCS school turned FBS. No, this isn’t even an ACC school.
This is Notre Dame … a good Notre Dame football team at that, one who has he same national championship aspirations as the Tigers.
“This is a whole different type of animal we are getting ready to deal with in Notre Dame,” Swinney said. “This is a legit top 10 football team. I really don’t see a weakness in them. I really don’t.”
The Irish (3-0) have already pounded Texas, escaped Virginia with a win and physically dominated Georgia Tech in the first three weeks of the season.
“Everybody talks about (wide receiver Will) Fuller, but they are all good,” Swinney said. “They can all make plays … tight ends, running backs, the quarterback is exceptional.”
That quarterback is DeShone Kiser, who first threw a last-second touchdown pass to Fuller to beat Virginia in Week 2 when coming off the bench for the injured Malik Zaire, and then completed 21 of 30 passes for 242 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown pass to Fuller in last week’s victory over Georgia Tech.
“He has done a great job for them. He has already won a game on the last play of the game. You can see him playing with a lot of confidence,” Swinney said. “Now he has come back and won a big game against Georgia Tech.”
Notre Dame is also very physical and tough up front. It rushed for 215 yards against Tech, including 198 from running back C.J. Prosise, a converted wide receiver turned running back. He has rushed for 451 yards and four touchdowns behind an offensive line that averages 315 pounds across the board.
“The offensive line is as good as we are going to see,” Swinney said.
“The biggest thing is they are talented, but they are experienced,” he continued. “They have a lot of guys that have played and that’s a hard thing to replace. It’s one thing to play some talented guys that are still a little green, but it is another thing when you play some ripe old veterans. These guys have played a lot of ball and they know what they are doing. They are well coached, fundamentally sound. This is a talented team that is well coached and plays hard at every single position.”