3-2-1: Notre Dame-Clemson Observations, Questions & Prediction
3 OBSERVATIONS
Look for both Clemson and Notre Dame to be in peak mental shape on Saturday night.
An ideal situation I was hoping for versus Clemson was the Tigers coming into town with a blowout victory against Boston College. What I did not want was for them to encounter game pressure for the first time in 2020.
Instead, they were jolted early by some roundhouses, fell behind 28-10, trailed about three-quarters of the time (Notre Dame has been behind only 19:47 out of a possible 360 minutes this season) and had to rally in the fourth quarter for a 34-28 victory.
It reminded me of the last time the No. 1 team came into Notre Dame Stadium — USC in 2005 after two weeks earlier having been down 21-3 at Arizona State, still trailing in the fourth quarter, and finally emerging with a 38-28 conquest.
Those who have read me through the years know I am more into the psychology/intangibles of competition than pure matchups (other than obvious disparities in personnel). Superpowers like the Trojans back then or the Tigers now possess that supreme confidence/poise to respond when taken to the wall. My hope was that a first such circumstance would be at Notre Dame, where there is more of a talent base and experience to exploit it than at Boston College.
That rally against the Eagles should be as beneficial this week to the Tigers as Notre Dame’s 12-7 scare against Louisville was on Oct. 17. Everyone, superpower or not, will face such situations in the course of a campaign where their football lives flash before their eyes against a heavy underdog — and then facilitates them getting “scared straight.”
At the same time, I sense an inner confidence in this Fighting Irish unit that should have them have a healthy respect but not awe of Clemson. I anticipate Notre Dame will play with a similar confident and poised aggression that it showed against USC in 2005. I do believe all-around this Irish team is better than that 2005 unit from player 1 through 60, whereas the Tigers, especially minus Trevor Lawrence, could be more vulnerable.
At the same time, minus Lawrence, there is more internal pressure on Notre Dame, particularly at home, and less on Clemson. That can be a dangerous formula that can galvanize the Tigers, especially after the scare they received.
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