Here is a look at the top matchups for tonight’s game between No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 11 Clemson. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 8:22 p.m. and will be televised by ABC. The Irish enter the game with a 4-0 record and are coming off a victory over UMass, while the Tigers are 3-0. Clemson had last week off following its road win at Louisville on Sept. 17.
Clemson’s front seven vs. Notre Dame’s running game: Since the spring, Clemson defenders have said the Tigers will not experience a drop off on defense despite the loss of nine starters to a unit that ranked No. 1 in the country last year. Well, this is the game where they will have the opportunity to prove it. Notre Dame comes in with the 12th best rushing attack in the country. Led by starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley (6-6, 315) and left guard Quenton Nelson (6-5, 325), the Irish are averaging 284.5 yards per game on the ground. Running mostly behind these two, running back C.J. Prosise is averaging 8.1 yards per carry and 150.0 yards per game. As a team, the Irish are averaging 6.7 yards per carry and three rushing touchdowns per game. The Tigers’ starting front seven is allowing very little. Louisville averaged 0.7 yards per carry and had just 19 total rushing yards, while App State and Wofford did next to nothing at all when Clemson’s starting front seven was in the game. Combined, App State and Wofford rushed for 92 yards on 37 carries in the four quarters Clemson’s starters were on the field. That calculates to 2.5 yards per carry. This side of the ball should be extremely interesting to watch, especially if the projected six inches of rain fall and the 40 mph winds play havoc on Saturday. Advantage: Even
Deshaun Watson vs. Notre Dame’s secondary: I have said all week I felt the secondary was the Irish’s weakest link. Look at it this way. Notre Dame ranks 55th nationally in passing defense, giving up 203.8 yards per game. Here is what those stats don’t tell you. They played Georgia Tech in one of the four games so even with skewed stats, their passing yards allowed is still not impressive. Take away the game against Tech’s triple option, and the Irish are giving up 231.3 yards. Three teams with more conventional college offenses have completed 56.9 percent of their passes. Watson is averaging just 213.7 yards per game, but he played very little in the second half against App State and Wofford. Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian Vangorder likes to bring exotic blitzes with his safeties and linebackers, which sometimes leaves his corners by themselves. Notre Dame likes to play a lot of press-man coverage under Vangorder, and if Watson has time and / or picks up where the blitzes are coming from, he should have some opportunities to make some plays down field. Advantage: Clemson
Clemson’s offensive line vs. Notre Dame’s front seven: Look for Vangorder to try and confuse starting left tackle Mitch Hyatt and bring most of his blitzes off the left side of the line. Vangorder runs a complicated scheme that can confuse even the more veteran laden lines. It’s important the Tigers try to recognize these blitzes so Watson is given the time he needs to find his outlets. Linebackers Joe Schmidt and Jaylon Smith are as good as it gets at linebacker. Defensive tackle Sheldon Day is good at clogging the holes and disrupting things in the running game. Clemson’s offensive line is going to have its hands full all night. Advantage: Notre Dame
DeShone Kiser vs. Clemson fans: All I heard two years ago when Jameis Winston came to town with No. 5 Florida State was that the redshirt freshman was playing in his first true road game and there was no way he was going to be able to come into Clemson and not be affected by the crowd. That did not turn out too well for Clemson. But unlike Winston, who had already played a game on the road at Pitt, Kiser does not even have that kind of experience to pull from. Can the Clemson fans back up their claim in saying they are going to make life hard for Kiser and fight off the rain and show up? Or will he come in and be able to shut up those who are in attendance and leave Clemson with a big-time road win? There is one thing Kiser does not have that Winston had in that 2013 game against Clemson … Florida State’s No. 1 ranked defense. Advantage: Clemson
Clemson punter Andy Teasdall vs. Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome: Notre Dame’s Newsome averaged 52.4 yards a punt in last week’s win over UMass and he is averaging 47.1 for the season. Teasdall on the other hand is averaging 38.1 yards per punt. But Teasdall has no touchbacks to this point, while Newsome has six. Both have seven punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Teasdall has forced five fair catches while Newsome has two. With weather conditions expected to be the worst in the history of Death Valley the punters in this game will play an important role in terms of field position. Advantage: Notre Dame
Bottom line: Earlier in the week before all this bad weather moved in, I predicted Clemson to beat the Irish, 30-16. But the weather has changed my mind a bit. Notre Dame’s ability to run the ball better than Clemson can come in extremely handy in a game like this in which it will be played in the middle of the field and between the hashes. This is what is called a mutter game. Clemson might have the best overall athletes on the field, but Notre Dame has the better offensive line, running back and punter. But there is one thing Clemson has that the Irish does not … Deshaun Watson. In games like this there is always one playmaker that makes the difference. I think Watson will make that play for Clemson and in the end the Tigers will come out with a huge victory.
Prediction: Clemson 23, Notre Dame 16