SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame football team upset the fifth ranked Clemson Tigers Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium, 35-14. The Irish ran for 263 yards in the win, marking the third-consecutive game hitting the 200-yard plateau. Logan Diggs and Audric Estime each surpassed the century mark, running for 114 and 104 yards, respectively. The Irish improved to 6-3 and won its third-straight game. The loss is Clemson’s first of the year.
The running game was the key to victory as Joe Alt, Jarrett Patterson, Zeke Correll, Josh Lugg and Blake Fisher paved the way. Along with the twin 100-yard rushers, Chris Tyree added 26 yards with seven carries, and Drew Pyne scrambled for 21 yards on four rushes and scored a touchdown. Estime also hit paydirt as it’s the fifth time this season the Irish have scored multiple touchdowns on the ground.
Drew Pyne threw for nine completions on 17 attempts, finding Michael Mayer four times. Mayer recorded 44 yards and caught the game’s final touchdown. That’s the 16th of his career, setting a new Notre Dame record for career touchdown receptions for a tight end, breaking Ken McAfee’s record that was set during his career in 1974-77.
Defensively, linebacker JD Bertrand led the team with 12 tackles, nine solo, a sack and two tackles for loss. Freshman Ben Morrison added seven tackles, four solo, two interceptions, one in which he took 96 yards for a touchdown. The Irish defense limited Clemson to 281 total yards, 90 on the ground and 191 through the air.
How It Happened
Notre Dame received the opening kickoff before having to punt to Clemson on the Tiger 21 yard line. The defense moved the Tigers back four yards, setting up a punt. Jordan Botelho darted in and blocked the kick, Prince Kollie caught the deflection at the 17, and scampered into the end zone to give the Irish an early lead. It’s the sixth blocked punt of the season, tying a Notre Dame record set in 1937.
The teams exchanged punts until the Irish took over with 6:25 remaining in the half at its own 22. Fisher, Lugg, Correll, Patterson and Alt took over the drive as Notre Dame drove 78 yards on 11 plays, gaining 67 of those yards on the ground. Estime carried for 41 yards in the series and Pyne finished it out with a bootleg to the left side. He followed the lead block of Mayer to run in for the five-yard score. The Irish led 14-0 with 0:38 remaining in the first half.
As the third quarter wound down, the Irish defense made a big splash. Justin Ademilola hurried new Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik on a bootleg pass. The throw was late over the middle and Morrison grabbed his first career interception to set the Irish up in the red zone. A Pyne bootleg got the ball inside the five where Estime finished the job with a two-yard touchdown run to put the Irish up 21-0 with 14:37 remaining in the game.
Clemson responded by putting together a drive to get into the Notre Dame red zone. The Clemson starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei tried to find a receiver inside the five, but again it found the hands of Morrison. Morrison ran down the Notre Dame sideline for a 96-yard touchdown to put the Irish up 28-0.
The Tigers wouldn’t go down easily as Uiagalelei engineered the first Clemson scoring drive of the night, going 75 yards on 11 plays to cut the lead down to 28-7 with 10:14 remaining in the game.
Notre Dame counter punched, putting together an 11-play drive of its own. The running game powered the series as Estime ran for 13 yards, eight after contact on a third and 12 to keep the drive rolling in Clemson territory. On a second and seven from the 17, Pyne faked the handoff to Estime and hit Mayer for a 17-yard record-breaking score.
Clemson added another touchdown in the final two minutes of action, but Mayer recovered the onside kick to thwart the comeback attempt and preserve the Irish’s 35-14 victory over Clemson.
Up Next
The Irish hit the road next week to renew its annual rivalry with the Navy Midshipmen. The game will be played at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.