The 11th-ranked Clemson Tigers will host No. 6 Notre Dame on Saturday in Death Valley. This will be just the third meeting all-time between these traditional college football powers. Notre Dame won the first meeting in 1977, while the Tigers avenged that loss with a victory over the Irish at South Bend in 1979. That was the last meeting between the two.
About Notre Dame: The Irish come into this game undefeated after beating UMass last week, 62-27. The Irish have averaged 41 points a game in the first month of the season, while the defense is yielding 19.8 points per game. Notre Dame has lost five players to season-ending injuries, including quarterback Malik Zaire.
Notre Dame’s offense: Freshman DeShone Kiser has played well in Zaire’s absence. He has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 541 yards and five touchdowns in two starts. This will be his first start on the road. Running back C.J. Prosise has rushed for 600 yards and is averaging 8.1 yards per carry, including a 91-yard touchdown against Georgia Tech. As a team, the Irish are averaging 284.5 yards per game on the ground. Wide receiver Will Fuller is averaging 20.6 yards per catch and has six touchdowns on 22 catches.
Notre Dame’s defense: Statistically, the Irish do not look impressive. They rank 40th in scoring defense, 46th in rushing defense, 55th in pass defense and 42nd in total defense. But their front seven is impressive with guys like Romeo Okwara, Sheldon Day and Isaac Rochell on the defensive line, while linebacker Jaylon Smith is the leader of the unit. He leads the team with 29 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack. The Irish have eight sacks this season. Notre Dame’s secondary is allowing opponents to complete 52.6 percent of their passes for 203.8 yards. They have given up five touchdowns and have one interception.
Series record: tied 1-1
First meeting: Notre Dame 21, Clemson 17, in 1977
Last Meeting: Clemson 16, Notre Dame 10, in 1979
Injuries: Clemson: Out: C Ryan Norton (knee), DE Dane Rogers (ankle), WR Mike Williams (neck), LB Chris Register (shoulder), S Korrin Wiggins (knee). Notre Dame: Out: QB Malik Zaire (ankle), RB Tarean Folston (ACL), TE Tyler Luatua (concussion), TE Durham Smythe (MCL), DT Jarron Jones (MCL), DB Shaun Crawford (ACL), DB Drue Tranquill (ACL). Will Play: S Max Redfield (thumb), WR Corey Robinson (knee).
Stat worth noting: Clemson is 4-16 all-time against AP top 10 teams in Death Valley. Included in that is a 1977 loss to No. 5 Notre Dame, 21-17.
Second stat worth noting: Clemson and Notre Dame both enter October undefeated for the first time since 1987. The Irish were 4-0 in September, while the Tigers were 3-0.
Third stat worth noting: Clemson has defeated 15 top 10 teams in its history, and current head coach Dabo Swinney has five of those 15 wins.
Memorable game: Notre Dame led 10-0 lead at halftime in the 1979 meeting between the two teams, and actually had a 16-0 lead for a few seconds. The Irish were up 10-0 in the second period when quarterback Rusty Lisch scored on a 10-yard run to make it 16-0. But, a holding call was made on a Notre Dame lineman and the play was nullified. The Irish could not get the first down and when Chuck Male, who had won the Michigan game in the season opener, missed a 32-yard field goal, the score remained 10-0. Clemson head coach Danny Ford said many times the first five minutes of the second half are the most important in a football game. That was the case this November 17 day in South Bend. Clemson had to punt on its first possession of the second half, but Notre Dame’s Ty Dickerson fumbled David Sims’s punt at the Notre Dame 21 and Chuck Rose recovered for Clemson. Clemson drove to the Notre Dame four but the drive stalled and Obed Ariri kicked the first of his three field goals on the day. Clemson then drove for another field goal by Ariri. On the next Notre Dame possession, Vegas Ferguson fumbled on the first play after being hit by Bubba Brown and sophomore Jeff Davis recovered the ball for Clemson. Four plays later Billy Lott, who had a team best 73 yards rushing on the day, kept the ball around right end (28 Counter Option) and raced 26 yards for a touchdown. It was Clemson’s third score in its last three possessions and the Tigers had taken the lead, 13-10. The Tigers scored on a fourth straight possession after a 15-play drive that culminated with a 37-yard field goal by Ariri, giving Clemson a 16-10 lead. There was still 8:30 left in the game, but just as turnovers had hurt Clemson in the game in Death Valley two years earlier, turnovers were the difference for Notre Dame in this game. The Irish drove to the Clemson 25 and on a third-and-nine play, Lisch’s pass was deflected by Notre Dame receiver Tony Hunter and intercepted by safety Terry Kinard. Clemson could not move the ball and Notre Dame got it back at its own 16 with 2:34 left. This time Devine went to some trickery and called an end-round pass with Pete Holohan, who had been a high school quarterback. His long pass was intercepted by Kinard again and he returned it 40 yards to the Notre Dame 19. But, the game was still not over. On Clemson’s second play, Lott fumbled the snap and freshman Mark Zavagnin recovered for the Irish with 2:02 left. It was Clemson’s only turnover of the day. On Notre Dame’s first play, Steve Durham sacked Lisch back at the Notre Dame two-yard-line. Three more passes were incomplete and Clemson ran out the clock for the 16-10 victory.