CLEMSON — The Clemson defense did not have its best day, but when it mattered the most the Tigers held No. 12 Notre Dame to 41 yards in the fourth quarter and had two key stops in the last three minutes of a 31-23 victory over the Irish.
Freshman Kylon Griffin intercepted a Sam Hartman pass to end one drive, while defensive end Xavier Thomas pressured Hartman into a fourth down incompletion to end the Irish’s final drive.
On a day when the defenses were supposed to dominate, it was the offenses that controlled the first three quarters of the game. Both teams were able to run the football on the two defensive units that ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense.
Clemson ran for 176 yards, while the Irish ran for 183.
The Clemson defense did force three turnovers and record two sacks, while also holding Notre Dame to 3 of 13 on third down.
Phil Mafah led the Tigers (5-4) with 186 yards and two touchdowns, while Audric Estime had 17 carries for 87 yards to lead the Irish.
It was Mafah’s 41-yard touchdown that gave the Tigers a 7-3 lead with 6:57 to play in the first quarter. The Tigers also got a 9-yard Klubnik to Tyler Brown touchdown pass for a 17-6 lead before linebacker Jeremiah Trotter picked off a Sam Hartman pass and returned it 28 yards for a 24-6 lead with 8:33 to play before halftime.
The Irish (7-3) added a field goal before halftime and then scored a minute into the third quarter when Beaux Collins had a pass bounce of his arms and into the hands of Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts. He returned the interception 33 yards to the Clemson one, as Estime scored on a 1-yard run on the next play to make it a 24-16 game.
The Tigers answered on their next possession when Mafah went in from a yard out for a 31-16 advantage. But Notre Dame answered the Clemson score with one of their own when Hartman ran it in from 26 yards out with 6:05 to play in the third quarter.
THE TAKEAWAY
On a week the Tigers were maligned by their fans, they rose up and found a way to beat a Notre Dame team no one thought they could beat, especially when news that so many Tigers were not going to play. In all, Clemson had six starters out of the game, including four in the defensive secondary.
IMPLICATIONS
The win was huge for the Clemson Program. The Tigers positioned themselves for a run at the end of the season that could get them to a better bowl game. For Notre Dame, the loss comes as a big blow to any hopes the Irish had of making a New Year’s Six Bowl game.
MVP
Running Phil Mafah took advantage of his opportunity to start in the place of an injured Will Shipley and he made the most of it. The junior tallied a career-high 186 yards on a career-high 36 carries, while scoring touchdowns of 41 and 1 yards.
TIDBITS
Swinney became Clemson’s all-time winningest coach. The win over the Irish was his 166th of his career, pushing him one past Frank Howard’s 165 wins. Howard coached at Clemson from 1940-’69. Swinney is now 166-43 in his 15-plus years as the Tigers’ head coach.
UP NEXT
Clemson returns home next Saturday to face Georgia Tech.
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