CLEMSON – Odds are stacked against the Clemson Tigers in Death Valley Saturday as the No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish come to town. With an abundance of injuries plaguing a team fighting for a bowl berth, there’s a lot that has to go right.

Good news is it’s nothing new. This Clemson team has seen where their issues are and avoiding their Achilles heels happens to be Notre Dame’s kryptonite. With that in mind, here’s the three keys that the Tigers can use to unlock a massive win over the Irish.

Exorcise the Sam Hartman demons

Last season, then-Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman lit up Wes Goodwin’s defense in his first season for six passing touchdowns. While Hartman left with a loss, it was a brutal day for Clemson’s strength.

It’s a different team but the same Hartman in 2023, so how will the Tigers respond to that? A majority of this team’s core played in that game and it has to be in their mind heading into Saturday. Limiting his success is the defensive key, because it’s difficult to make their offense one-dimensional.

Run the ball with purpose

Clemson has made a point to rely on the run game this season, but it’s sometimes become their downfall. In the two losses for the Irish, their opponent has rushed for at least 4.5 yards per carry.

If the Tigers want to control the game, it has to be on rushes that set the offense up for conversions. 2nd-and-long rushes up the A-gap and first down carries for a couple yards won’t cut it.

The likely absence of left guard Marcus Tate makes more difficult and so does the day-to-day status of running back Will Shipley. Clemson can’t change that, but they can step up and win up front regardless.

Win the turnover battle

This is an every week occurrence at this point talking about turnovers, and it still hasn’t changed. Stop me if you’ve heard this before: if there was ever a time, it’s now to create takeaways and take care of the ball.

When Louisville took down Notre Dame, Hartman had three interceptions. If Clemson can replicate that, there’s a good chance they can win.

Add in the home field advantage in Death Valley that’s foaming at the mouth for something to cheer about. There’s no time to think about what could’ve been if the Tigers didn’t shoot themselves in the foot early this season, but Clemson can make up for lost time by not doing so Saturday.