Notre "Lame" Gets Trounced by the Tigers
The Irish could not ward off Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson Tigers for the second time this season.
Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish walked into Charlotte and were assaulted by the Clemson Tigers in a 34-10 loss. With the Irish losing tonight, the four team playoff picture is completely shaken up.
Clemson quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, was not able to play in the first meeting vs the Irish so he had a fire in his belly to avenge his teams only loss. He threw for 322 yards, 2 touchdowns, and rushed for 90 yards and 1 touchdown. Lawrence proved why he should have his name in the Heisman conversation.
The Tigers star running back, Travis Etienne, added 124 yards on the ground with 1 touchdown. The Clemson wideouts torched the Irish secondary. Wide receivers Amari Rodgers and E.J Williams had 2 touchdowns and a combined 201 receiving yards.
For the Irish, the one bright spot on the defense was safety, Kyle Hamilton. He recorded 10 tackles and 1 interception. For the rest of the defense, they struggled to pressure Lawrence, and on the rare occasion they did he would slip his way out of tackles like Houdini.
Mike Sanfords offense never got going and could not out smart Clemson defensive coordinator, Brent Venables. Ian Book threw for 219 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. The run game also was never able to impact the game. The lone Irish touchdown came on a 21 yard, Chris Tyree, carry in the fourth quarter.
With Alabama winning 52-46 in the SEC Championship game, they will be a lock for number one. Now, I think Clemson will move into number two and this is where things get interesting. If Ohio State gets into the playoffs then Notre Dame will be the number four seed but, if Texas A&M or Cincinnati make the four seed then Notre Dame will have a rematch with the Clemson Tigers.
As a die hard Notre Dame, I hope to get another shot at the Tigers. GO IRISH!