How Notre Dame fueled Clemson’s fire for Saturday’s dominant title game performance
Clemson showed up for Saturday’s ACC championship game against Notre Dame with a little added motivation.
The Tigers crushed Notre Dame 34-10 Saturday evening at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte to clinch their sixth consecutive ACC championship and College Football Playoff berth.
The win avenged a loss Clemson suffered to Notre Dame last month on a night when star quarterback Trevor Lawrence and defensive leader James Skalski did not play. Lawrence and Skalski were a big part of Saturday’s win and said Notre Dame helped fuel the strong performance.
Notre Dame fans stormed the field and found Lawrence and Skalski when the Irish beat Clemson 47-40 in double overtime on Nov. 7, according to Lawrence.
“Me and Jamie, walking off that field, we remember fans running on the field and getting in our faces,” Lawrence said after Saturday’s win. “Obviously it’s part of it, but you remember those things. You kind of keep those images in your head for when the time comes to play them again. ... We definitely remembered that.”
Lawrence made one last push for the Heisman trophy Saturday against the Irish, completing 25 of 36 passes for 322 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 90 yards and a score.
“It would be a crying shame if the Heisman didn’t attach their name to Trevor Lawrence,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said after the game. “That would be a shame. I know that’s become a stat award, but if you watch college football, and you don’t know this is the best player in the country, I don’t know what you’re looking at.”
On the other side of the ball, Skalski had five tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry as the two were critical to Clemson’s success.
“Ever since that loss, we knew if we took care of business, and they took care of business, we were going to see them again. We were really happy that we got to see them again,” Skalski said. “It’s been an exciting two weeks getting ready for these guys. We couldn’t wait to play tonight and it definitely showed.”
In addition to Skalski and Lawrence, Clemson also had two more starters back Saturday in defensive tackle Tyler Davis and linebacker Mike Jones Jr.
Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book said leading up to the game that he still felt good about Notre Dame’s chances, even with Clemson getting some starters back.
“I’m excited that all those guys are back,” Book told ESPN. “We can play them and have all those people be quiet when the game’s over and we get this win.”
Skalski said Clemson was well aware of what the Irish were saying going into the game.
“We knew when we’re at full force and we’re firing on all cylinders, what we can do to people. And that showed,” he said. “When you listen to some of the things they were saying leading up to this game, they pushed some buttons that I think they wish they wouldn’t have pushed.”
Clemson outgained Notre Dame 541 to 263 on the night and held the Irish to 44 rushing yards.
“Notre Dame’s a great team and we had a great game in South Bend,” Swinney said. “(They) stormed the field and all that stuff. And I told the guys in the locker room, ‘Look, no trophy was handed out tonight. They’re gonna hand that out in Charlotte. And when we get to Charlotte we’ll be on the field and we’ll get the trophy.’ They’ve had a great year, but tonight it was all about the Clemson Tigers.”
What time is the CFP Selection Show today?
The 2020 Selection Show for the College Football Playoff begins at noon Sunday on ESPN. Playoff teams will be revealed at 12:15 p.m., with New Year’s Six bowl matchups at 2:30 p.m.
This story was originally published December 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "How Notre Dame fueled Clemson’s fire for Saturday’s dominant title game performance."
