Notre Dame’s march toward a 10-win season continues with the No. 12 Fighting Irish (7-2) facing off against Clemson (4-4) in South Carolina. Follow along below for live updates of today’s 12 p.m. ET game between the Irish and Tigers.
First quarter
• Clemson wins the toss and defers to the second half. Irish offense up first.
• Notre Dame runs all over Clemson to start the game, including Audric Estimé scampers of 23 and 25 yards, but the drive stalls after a loss of three on a completed screen to Chris Tyree set up third and 10 from the Clemson 25. The Irish run for a gain of six yards then elect not to go for it on fourth and four. They settle for a 43-yard field goal instead. Spencer Shrader makes it.
SCORE: Irish 3, Tigers 0 with 10:36 left in the quarter
• A Phil Mafah run of 10 yards on Clemson’s first play from scrimmage gets the Death Valley crowd going. He runs for five yards on the next play, but two incomplete passes stall Clemson’s first drive. The Tigers punt the ball down to the Irish 14.
• A Clemson sack gets home on Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman on third down. It’s well-timed and executed pressure from the Tigers’ defense. The blitzer, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., went right through the gap between Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt and guard Pat Coogan, who were preoccupied with other blocking assignments.
• The ensuing punt is nearly returned for a Clemson touchdown. Jack Kiser makes a tackle that saves six points. The ball is on the Notre Dame 41.
• Well, Kiser saved a touchdown for only a commercial break. Coming out of it, Mafah runs 41 yards to the end zone to give the Tigers the lead. Irish safety DJ Brown over-pursued the ball carrier on a blitz. Mafah was off and running and nobody was catching him.
SCORE: Tigers 7, Irish 3 with 6:57 left in the quarter
• Notre Dame goes three and out again. The Tigers are keyed in on the run, and the Irish aren’t winning in the passing game. Hartman is 1-of-3 for -3 yards.
• Tyree muffs a punt deep in his own territory, and the Tigers have the ball in the red zone. Football is a crazy game. Tyree was a punt return her a week ago vs. Pitt with an 82-yard touchdown.
• Brown makes a nice breakup to keep another Clemson touchdown off the board on third and goal. Clemson settles for a gift of a field goal. Three free points because of the Tyree fumble.
SCORE: Tigers 10, Irish 3 with 2:08 left in the quarter
• Hartman has the Irish in business with a 38-yard run on a designed keeper. Then the Irish gain another first down to get into the red zone with a play-action out to sophom*ore tight end Holden Staes. The ball is at the Clemson 19, first and 10.
END 1: Tigers 10, Irish 3
Second quarter
• The Irish settle for another field goal. They couldn’t get the job done on third and four. Gi’Bran Payne was open in the flat but the ball was tipped at the line.
SCORE: Tigers 10, Irish 6 with 13:34 left in the half
• Clemson hit Notre Dame with the run early. With Irish corners Cam Hart and Benjamin Morrison out for normal rest on this particular possession, the Tigers put the ball in the air. QB Cade Klubnik completed all six of his passes for 59 yards and a touchdown. Only two running plays were called.
SCORE: Tigers 17, Irish 6 with 9:11 left in the half
• Trotter Jr. steps right in front of a Hartman pass and takes it the other way for a pick-six. The Irish are definitely in trouble now.
SCORE: Tigers 24, Irish 6 with 8:33 left in the half
• Notre Dame got the pass game going a bit and worked its way down the field. Hartman connected with Tyree and Estimé on third down for two different 20-plus yard gains, but he couldn’t find Jaden Greathouse in the back of the end zone on third and goal from the five. Another field goal followed. This is what the rest of the game is going to look like for the Irish; it’s pass, pass, pass time still trailing by two scores. So much for that impressive running game on the first drive…
SCORE: Tigers 24, Irish 9 with 1:32 left in the half
• Clemson picked up a first down on the ensuing drive, but the Tigers were content with taking a 15-point lead into halftime. So that’s what they did. It’s gut-check time for the Irish with 30 minutes to go.
Third quarter
• Xavier Watts is exactly where he needs to be for Notre Dame, like clockwork. He takes a tipped interception on third and four all the way down to the Clemson two. Estimé cleans it up from there with a touchdown. The game is very much back on.
SCORE: Tigers 24, Irish 16 with 13:57 left in the quarter
• Mafah strikes again for Clemson. He had runs of 16 and 14 yards to get a drive going for the Tigers, and he capped it off with a short-score on third and goal. It’s back to a two-touchdown lead for the home side. The Irish defense doesn’t look as stout as it did in back-to-back wins over USC and Pitt. Not winning at the line of scrimmage.
SCORE: Tigers 31, Irish 16 with 8:08 left in the quarter
• It’s the shootout we all expected! Notre Dame answers the Clemson touchdown right back with a 35-yard gain to freshman wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. and then a 26-yard touchdown scramble from Hartman. The two teams are trading scores in the second half, and for perhaps the first time all afternoon it feels like the Irish can get into that type of game. But the defense surely has to win up front and get some stops.
SCORE: Tigers 31, Irish 23 with 6:05 left in the quarter
• The Irish got the defensive stop they needed … but it could have resulted in better field position. Klubnik pooch punted from around the 40-yard line and pinned the Notre Dame offense at its own 4, backed up on the end of the stadium where the student section is situated. This is a big series coming up for field position purposes.
• Notre Dame is down to third-string center, sophom*ore Ashton Craig, after injuries to Zeke Correll and Andrew Kristofic. The Irish also didn’t move the ball out of the shadow of their own end zone. After a punt from there, it’s Clemson ball at midfield.
• The Irish defense gets another big stop, but another Tyree miscue on a punt return on which he had to go get a ball he let go behind him as the Notre dame offense backed up again.
• Former walk-on Jordan Faison gets the Irish some breathing room with a 20-yard catch and run. A short running play after that is how the third quarter comes to a close. It’s going to go down to the wire, it seems. The Irish defense has a couple stops in a row to draw on for confidence purposes, which could be huge.
End 3: Tigers 31, Irish 23
Fourth quarter
• Clemson faced a third and four from the 35, but the ball went flying over Klubnik’s head on the snap. The Tigers punted from midfield.
• On third and 9 from his own 15, Hartman was sacked. Estimé did not pick up pressure up the middle. Hartman was a sitting duck. Estimé just has to make that play and give his quarterback time to throw the football. Clemson has the ball again at the Irish 49. The Tigers seem like they are one touchdown away from putting this one on ice. Maybe even a field goal. It’s gotten to the point where it does not feel like Notre Dame will score twice in the final 10 minutes. There are 9:43 remaining.
• Clemson is on the move at midfield with four minutes left.
• Notre Dame forced another midfield punt, but it’s another kick downed inside the 10 for the Tigers. Ninety-four yards stands between the Irish and a potential game-tying touchdown.
• Hartman was intercepted with 1:58 left, but the Irish forced and recovered a fumble a few snaps later to give him one more chance. It didn’t matter. The Irish couldn’t score, and the game ended with the ball in Clemson’s possession.
