Given Notre Dame’s tendency to struggle against highly-ranked opponents, few would have been surprised if Saturday’s game against the undefeated and No. 4 ranked Clemson Tigers resulted in a blowout. That’s exactly what happened. Only, it wasn’t the kind of blowout that anyone was expected.
The Fighting Irish dominated the Tigers. Notre Dame struck first, thanks to a huge play from its special teams unit.
Notre Dame strikes first against Clemson, thanks to a huge play from the special teams. pic.twitter.com/aTNNNTj9CH
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 5, 2022
The Fighting Irish took a 14-0 lead over a clearly frustrated Clemson team at halftime. Late in the third quarter, Dabo Swinney decided to replace the struggling DJ Uiagalelei in favor of Cade Klubnik. That did not go well.
Early returns on the QB change — not great for Clemson pic.twitter.com/FsxsM3jxo6
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 6, 2022
Notre Dame took advantage of the short field and scored a touchdown to go up 21-0. At that point, Swinney put Uiagalelei back in the game.
That also did not go well.
Things go from bad to worse for No. 4 Clemson and QB DJ Uiagalelei. pic.twitter.com/9O0uHt9281
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 6, 2022
Both teams would add points in garbage time as Notre Dame won 35-14. But any mystery that lingered in the game was squashed after after the pick-six.
While Clemson was undefeated entering Saturday night, its record was spotty. The Tigers had struggled in victories against lesser opponents, with their only convincing wins coming against Georgia Tech, Furman and Boston College.
So, Clemson was easily the shakiest of the four teams in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. And both as Saturday’s game against South Bend was unfolding and when it was over, the Tigers were widely ripped by college football fans.
Clemson, as we all suspected, is fraudulent. Good night, Tigers.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 6, 2022
Notre Dame blanking Clemson =
Peace Out to an ACC Playoff berth.— Bonnie Bernstein (@BonnieBernstein) November 6, 2022
Tonight has been an excellent example of why Clemson never deserved to be No. 4 in the first place.
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) November 6, 2022
How do people watch clemson and think they are good?
— Stuckey (@Stuckey2) November 6, 2022
https://twitter.com/HashtagGriswold/status/1589082603659067393
I guess we can take #Clemson out of the national championship discussion. #NotreDame took the Tigers behind the woodshed. #ACC #CFBPlayoff
— Ron Clements (@Ron_Clements) November 6, 2022
Clemson has made the playoffs with a loss before. For those hopeful that the Tigers will do so again this year, the most obvious comparison is 2020. That year, Clemson was defeated by South Bend in Notre Dame and still reached the playoff.
But there are some critical points to be made.
One, Notre Dame was ranked No. 4 in that game and finished the regular season 10-0. Two, Clemson was without the services of Trevor Lawrence in that game. Three, despite that, the Fighting Irish defeated the Tigers 47-40 in overtime. Four, given the irregularities of the 2020 season, Notre Dame was playing in the ACC. That gave Clemson a shot at a rematch with the Fighting Irish in the ACC Championship Game. With Lawrence, the Tigers won the rematch decisively, 34-10.
Notre Dame is back to competing as an independent in 2022. So Clemson will get no shot at a rematch. And even if that wasn’t the case, the Fighting Irish were 5-3 and unranked entering Saturday night’s game. Despite that, they dismantled the Tigers.
We won’t say that there’s no chance for Clemson. But it’s not looking good. In all likelihood, the Tigers are going to have a hard time overcoming this.
