Wow! What an ending. Clemson survives for 24-22 victory over No. 6 Notre Dame.
Clemson’s Carlos Watkins and Ben Boulware combined to stop DeShone Kiser’s attempt to score on the game-tying two point conversion with seven seconds.
The 11th-ranked Tigers led 21-3 before Notre Dame made a furious rally behind the play of Kiser who threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns.
It is a ball game. Notre Dame needed just 1:49 and four plays to go 64 yards. Kiser killed the Tigers on the drive with scrambles of 14 and 9 yards, and then a 33-yard pass to Brown. He capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown to pull the Irish within eight points, 24-16 with 9:03 to play.
Clemson answered the Notre Dame touchdown with a 35-yard Greg Huegel field goal to take a 24-9 lead with 10:56 to play in the game. The Tigers scoring drive was was six play, 50 yards and took 3:11 off the clock.
Travis Blanks blew the assignment on that touchdown pass, a 56-yard pass from Kiser to Prosise. Blanks bought into the play fake by Kiser and then allowed Prosise to sneak by him for the easy score. Clemson leads 21-9 after the two-point conversion try fails.
Ammon Lakip forced a fumble on the kickoff to start the second half. C.J. Fuller recovered the ball and then on third down-and-two from the 21-yard line, Watson used the quarterback power and ran 21 yards up the middle for the touchdown.
That gave Clemson a 21-3 lead with 14:14 to play in the third quarter.
Clemson leads Notre Dame 14-3 at halftime.
The Tigers got off to a fast start following a 32-yard kickoff return by Artavis Scott, Deshaun Watson went 38 yards on the game’s first play from scrimmage and a few plays later Watson hit tight end Jordan Leggett for a 6-yard touchdown with 12:19 to go in the first quarter.
After the defense forced a three-and-out on Notre Dame’s first series and a 15-yard punt by Tyler Newsome.
It did not take Clemson long to go the remaining 40 yards. Watson found Hunter Renfrow for a 26-yard gain to the 14, and then on third-and-nine, he hit Scott around the five, he bounced off two tacklers and walked into the end zone to make the score 14-0 with 8:43 to play in the opening quarter.
The Irish needed 22 yards on its next possession after a long kickoff return to get on the scoreboard. Justin Yoon booted a 46-yard field goal with 5:32 to play to make score, 14-3.
After Yoon’s kick, it was a defensive slug fest. Notre Dame held the Tigers to no first downs the rest of the half, while Clemson held the Irish’s powerful running game to 41 yards. Running back C.J. Prosise had just four yards on 10 carries.
Prosise has 10 carries for four yards. Clemson’s run defense has been all over him all night. He was the first running back in Notre Dame history to average 150 yards in his first four games.
This time Clemson flips the field as Teasdall makes a great punt. Clemson may not have scored there, but it did a good job moving the ball out of its end zone and now have Notre Dame backed up to its nine. Teasdall’s punt was 54 yards.
Notre Dame had 22 yards on the ground in the first quarter. Clemson ran for 64 yards.
Shaq Lawson had 3.5 tackles for loss in the first quarter.
That is the end of the first quarter. Clemson leads 14-3. It is the first Notre Dame has been outscored this year in the first quarter.
Notre Dame gets on the board with a nine-play 22-yard drive. Yoon makes a 46-yard field goal. That was his longest of the season. Not a bad defensive possession considering Notre Dame started the drive at its own 47.
Watson is 4-5 for 52 yards to start the game and two touchdowns.
Watson throws a 13-yard touchdown to Artavis Scott. Scott bounced off of two would-be tacklers. Clemson now leads 14-0 with 8:43 to play in the first quarter.
Clemson defense opens with a three-and-out, get pressure on Kiser with three men and then Notre Dame has just a 15-yard punt. Clemson is fired up early and so is Death Valley.
Clemson opens the game with a 7-play 64-yard drive, which Watson capped with a 6-yard touchdown pass. That was the first time Notre Dame has been scored on to open the game all year.
Captains for Clemson are Charone Peake, Kevin Dodd, Eric MacLain and Carolos Watkins. Notre Dame won the toss and elected to defer to the second half.
Clemson defensive back Mackensie Alexander, during warmups, ran over to the Notre Dame sideline to visit with injured Irish running back Tarean Folston (ACL), who hosted Alexander on his recruiting trip.
Alexander told him he wanted him on the field, and he hated. Folston said that was okay because they were still going to beat Clemson. Alexander then told him to bring on and then ran on the field and caught the rest of the DBs fired up. He then walked towards the Notre Dame side of the field turned around and pointed to his name.
I think it is safe to say Alexander is ready to play.
Folston told me afterwards he and Alexander stay in touch. He said he did everything he could to get him to Notre Dame.
“I thought I had him. I was wrong,” he said.
C.J. Davidson was working with the second-team offense during warmups. He will be the second running back in the game for the Tigers.
After a long wait of 36 years, Clemson’s sports information director for football Tim Bourret is finally getting to see his Tigers of Clemson, play his Irish of Notre Dame in a football game. In about two hours, Clemson and Notre Dame will meet for the first time since 1979, and the first time in Death Valley since 1979.
This will be the 279th sellout in its last 327 games Notre Dame has played in. Seventy percent of all games involving Notre Dame have been sold out, including tonight’s game at Clemson.
There are also 343 members of the media in the house as well tonight, which is second to the 399 Clemson issued to the media for the 1999 Bowden Bowl.
The key matchup in tonight’s game will be Clemson’s defensive line against the Irish’s offensive line. Notre Dame ranks 12th in the nation in rushing offense at 284.5 yards per game, while Clemson’s defensive is ranked ninth in the country in total yards allowed, 260 yards per game.