Notre Dame vs Clemson: Confidences & Concerns
Notre Dame returns home to take on a very formidable foe this week as undefeated and fifth-ranked Clemson heads to South Bend. While this matchup won’t feature two playoff-caliber teams battling it out for supremacy, this game still has meaning, and impact, and presents a terrific opportunity for the Irish to make a huge statement.
Getting this marquee win won’t be easy. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is an elite national championship-winning coach who has a talented roster coming off a bye. Notre Dame will have to play by far its best game Saturday night to pull off the upset.
Is it possible, sure? How likely is it? That’s the big question.
Let’s take a look at some confidences & concerns for the Irish as they enter this marque matchup under the lights.
Confidence 1: Michael Mayer
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Tight end Michael Mayer is the best player Notre Dame has. It stands to reason that to win games against elite teams your best player must have a great day. Notre Dame needs Mayer to do just that, but not only just in the typical ways that come to mind.
Sure, when he is relatively open, it’d be wise to feed him the ball. But he should and could also be used as an effective decoy to get others open. We’ve seen Pyne hone in on Mayer often recently even when he is blanketed by two-three defenders. This means others are open and Pyne needs to do a better job this week of finding the other skill players in this dynamic. Use your best player to create advantages whenever possible.
Confidence 2: Notre Dame Defense
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The Notre Dame defense is far from perfect, but overall they play solid football and are not the main culprit for the losses Notre Dame has acquired this year. They will face a tough test Saturday night.
With the documented struggles of the Notre Dame offense, it’s imperative the defense holds tough to keep this game within reach. Taking this a step further, it’d be a terrific week for the Irish to win the turnover battle, which has been a struggle all year but was accomplished last week. This group has kept Notre Dame in every game and can do so yet again.
Confidence 3: Special Teams
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Brian Mason has done a terrific job with Notre Dame’s special teams during his first year in charge of this unit. This group has found ways to be disruptive all year whether it be through punt blocks or punt returns.
If ever there were a week that called for some stolen yardage and possessions via special teams, this is it. Can this unit rise up against a playoff-caliber team and make a couple of splash plays? I wouldn’t bet against it.
Concern 1: Home, Home Again
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By now it’s no secret that for whatever reasons the Irish have played their best football this year away from South Bend. This is a trend that must end quickly. Defending one’s home field goes beyond football, it’s a demonstration of personal existential pride.
Perhaps the Irish need to rewatch “Rudy” to be reminded that “nobody comes into our house, and pushes us around”. It’d be fair to hope that the stature of the opponent alone should have the Irish fired up in front of the home crowd, but until we see the Irish play a full, solid home game, concerns remain.
Concern 2: The Run Game Matchup
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Football games are won through matchups. Strengths versus weaknesses being exploited. This week is no different. Notre Dame’s clear strength on offense is the running game. Clemson’s strength on defense is defending the run. Something has to give.
Clemson surrenders a meager average of 88 yards per game on the ground while the Irish gain close to 200 yards per game. No, the Irish don’t have to shred Clemson through the run game to win, but they have to at least be able to make Clemson respect the run to open up anything else in the offense Notre Dame may want to try. “O Line U”, Saturday is the game you need to live up to the moniker in and quite frankly, in recent historical elite matchups, this has not occurred.
Concern 3: Drew Pyne
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I’m not trying to beat up Drew Pyne, it’s just a fact that his game is limited both in terms of experience and physical gifts. After a hot two-game start after the Buchner injury, Pyne was completing well over 70% of his passes. In the last three affairs, however, the completion rate is down under 50% and against competition nowhere near what Clemson will bring to town.
Dabo Swinney knows Notre Dame wants to run the ball. He also knows this plays right into the strength of his defense. This means that at some point, Drew Pyne is going to have to take shots in the passing game for the Irish to be balanced enough to score on Clemson. Can he convert enough of them?
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