There were three plays that really bothered Clemson’s offensive coaches in the Notre Dame game.

In the second half, the Tigers had an opportunity to put the game away three times. Following a second consecutive lost fumble by Notre Dame to open the third quarter, the Tigers were up 21-3 and had the ball at the Irish 40-yard line.

On third-and-four from the 34, quarterback Deshaun Watson tossed a deep pass to Artavis Scott for what looked like a sure touchdown. But, because of all the wind and the rain, the ball sailed and went through the outstretched arms of the Tigers’ sophomore wide receiver.

“We make that catch and we probably have a different finish to the game,” Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said on Monday.

With less than five minutes to go in the quarter, Clemson drove the ball from its own 16, to the Notre Dame 33. On first down, going down the same sideline, Watson threw a long ball towards the end zone where wide receiver Charone Peake was in a one-on-one battle with Notre Dame corner Cole Luke. But despite giving up a few inches, Luke was able to take the ball away from Peake for the interception.

“That was on Charone, and he understands that,” Scott said. “We talk all the time that we are going to be aggressive and will take our shots down the field, and when we do that in one-on-one situations, the one thing we have to do as a wide receiver is protect the quarterback and be sure the ball is never intercepted. We just have to knock that down.”

The third opportunity came with 6:36 to play in the game following B.J. Goodson’s interception at the Notre Dame 35-yard line. But on third-and-two from the 27, Watson was unable to pick up the first down, and kicker Greg Huegel’s field goal was wide left on fourth down.

“Really, what that comes down to is executing,” Scott said. “Like I said on that one drive at the plus-35 where we ended up kicking a field goal and missed a field goal, on third-and-two we had a call and we did not execute it. If we could get that first down and go down and get points, it changes the entire game.”

Watson said the offense got a little conservative at the end because they did not want to do anything that would give Notre Dame a short field. They took their shots early and did not connect so as the rains got heavier, they had dial it back a little bit and rely more on the defense, who at that point was dominating the game.

“We just tried to manage the game. The defense was doing a great job,” he said. “At the end they got a little tired and Notre Dame started to get those easy throws. The game could have been a lot worse than it was. We just tried to manage the game and run out the clock.”

That almost did not work.