It has been 38 years since Notre Dame last visited Clemson and don’t think a little bit of rain is going to keep Clemson’s Death Valley from filling up on Saturday night.
Heavy rain and wind is forecasted for Saturday’s 8:22 p.m. kickoff on ABC, but Clemson officials let fans on both sides know on Friday that conditions will be good enough to play the game.
“We’ve been in constant communication with state and local law enforcement and have monitored weather throughout the week and today,” director of athletics Dan Radakovich said. “I’ve spoken with campus leaders, State Highway Patrol, and Governor Nikki Haley, and feel confident we can play the game as scheduled.
“We ask our fans to be conscientious arriving and departing from our campus as we will have some limitations due to this ongoing weather event.”
But don’t expect there to be any limitations between the lines on Frank Howard Field. Both Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly have said the weather will not affect how they play the game or what they do in the passing game.
“Well, you know, I’ve always liked to throw the ball in the rain because you know where you are going. We will take it as it comes,” Kelly said. “I still think the ideal situation is to try and maintain as much balance as you can. We were using a wet ball all week. Our quarterbacks can handle a wet ball so I’m not that concerned, quite frankly.”
Neither is Swinney.
“Just because it is raining or not, that doesn’t mean you can’t block people,” Swinney said. “You can still throw and catch and do that type of stuff. If there is an impact or whatever, it is the same for both teams so it does not matter.”
What does matter is who plays the best whether it is raining or not. Both teams come into this top 15 matchup with strengths and weaknesses. Notre Dame likes to lean on its big, strong offensive line and running back C.J. Prosise. The Irish rank 12th nationally at running the football at 284.5 yards a game, and the goal is take the pressure off freshman quarterback DeShone Kiser, who will be making his first road start of his career.
Some expect Clemson’s home field advantage and the loud noise to play a role on how Kelly calls the game with his young signal caller.
“This is one of the more dynamic places to play college football,” said ESPN analyst and quarterback guru George Whitfield. “It has the history and it is almost like coming inside a small nation when they get all that stuff going, Howard’s Rock and the pregame.
“But there have been quarterbacks that have come in here almost as young as Kiser and they have had success. They had to buckle down and weave themselves back into their team’s structure.”
Unlike Kelly and Swinney, Whitfield says the weather will play a role in how both Kiser and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson play in this game, which adds to the pressure placed on Notre Dame’s young quarterback.
“He is going to have to go toe-to-toe with an offense that can also strike back at him or may have to keep up,” Whitfield said. “This will be a gigantic test for DeShone.”
And that’s why it will be extremely important for Notre Dame to run the ball. Freshman quarterback, hostile environment and rainy conditions usually don’t bold well for most teams if they cannot run the football against a good defense, much less one like Clemson’s.
The Tigers rank ninth in the nation in total defense, and the last time out they held Louisville to 19 yards rushing on the road. The Cardinals averaged just 0.7 yards per carry. They also had five sacks.
“That would be difficult even without this monsoon coming,” Whitfield said. “If you cannot run the football then you can’t dictate the terms. That means they are controlling you up front with four or five players.
“Now they can bring safeties and defensive backs at their leisure. If you can run the ball then everybody back there has to have an eye on that backfield. A defense has to commit to stopping the run first and then you can focus on the pass. If an offense can’t dictate terms you can’t run.”