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Irish rise to the occasion, then commit to pushing their ceiling higher

Irish fans storm the field at Notre Dame Stadium Saturday night after ND's 35-14 takedown of No. 4 Clemson.
Irish fans storm the field at Notre Dame Stadium Saturday night after ND's 35-14 takedown of No. 4 Clemson. (Jeff Douglas, Inside ND Sports)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Michael Mayer got swallowed up in the eddy of humanity swirling onto the Notre Dame Stadium turf last Saturday night like it was 2020 all over again and refusing for a good 40 minutes after the clock hit all zeroes to let the seismic moment pass into history.

Perhaps the greatest tight end ever to play at a school synonymous with that position group’s excellence was consoled by the fact that he somehow got trapped in the claustrophobic swarm with his brother and some old friends.

Along with the notion that maybe his final record-breaking run won’t turn out to be a footnote in a turbulent transition season after all, but a central context in something far more memorable, if not someday revered.

All those possibilities, all those dreams were exhumed Saturday night for the junior All-American, his Irish teammates and one of the most stubborn postgame revelers repeatedly begged to exit the field by the stadium public address announcer following unranked Notre Dame’s 35-14 uprising over CFP No. 4 Clemson.

Mayer’s first-year head coach, Marcus Freeman.

“I really didn't want to leave that field,” said a jubilant Freeman, who had to strain to hear questions and be heard in his postgame press conference due to a large number of Irish fans who opted to linger in the stadium tunnel and extend the celebration.

Freeman, meanwhile, was quick to throw a dash of his brand of reality on just the third Irish victory in the last 25 tries against top five teams, spanning five ND coaching regimes.

“After a great win like this, are we still willing to go and take a hard look at ourselves and say, ‘How can I improve as an individual?’” Freeman said. “After a win over a top five program, can we still be selfless? Can we tune out all the outside noise? It's easy to tune it out when you're not winning because it's all negativity.

“The challenge to this group is can you tune it out right even right now when somebody might pat you on the back and say, ‘You're doing a great job.’ Continue to stay focused and continue to work on the things that we know it's going to take for us to improve, because that's the challenge every week to improve.”

The improvement by the Irish (6-3) Saturday night was quantum — to the point that if they can arrive at their Nov. 26 regular-season finale at top 10-ranked USC with an 8-3 record, perhaps there’s a back door into the New Year’s Six bowl lineup after all.

They certainly looked the part Saturday night in running their win streak against ACC regular-season games to 27 straight, their November win streak to 17 games and their record in Notre Dame Stadium night games to 22-6.

With roughly 60 recruits taking it all in.

“They just dominated us in every facet of football, starting with coaching,” said Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, arguably college football’s best coach this side of Nick Saban.

The most tangible domination was at the lines of scrimmage — both of them — similar to No. 4 Notre Dame’s 47-40 double-overtime takedown of No. 1 Clemson two Novembers ago at the height of COVID-19 restrictions.

Which also led to a postgame field storming, albeit with a much smaller stampede and greater inhibitions, given the state of the pandemic at the time.

On the field during the game, the Irish outrushed the 8-1 Tigers, 263-90, with a future NFL defensive line and the nation’s No. 7 rush defense to boot. Sophomores Audric Estimé and Logan Diggs each cleared the 100-yard mark and the offensive line showed why it really is a big deal that O-line coach Harry Hiestand is back for a second tour of duty.

“I saw (offensive coordinator Tommy Rees on the sideline late in the game) and gave him a hug,” Diggs said. “I was like, ‘Thank you. Thank you for continuing to trust me and the whole running back room and the O-line, putting the game in our hands. That means a lot, coming from him, especially. He likes to throw the ball.”

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Freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison (20) with one of his two interceptions against Clemson on Saturday night.
Freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison (20) with one of his two interceptions against Clemson on Saturday night. (Jeff Douglas, Inside ND Sports)

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Meanwhile, first-year coordinator Al Golden’s defense sacked Clemson starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei four times for 26 yards, pressured Uiagalelei and freshman backup Cade Klubnik into interceptions and even got the team’s first red-zone stop this season.

Also notably, the Irish became just the third team in 195 games coached by Swinney in which Clemson didn’t score in the first half.

Freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison had both interceptions, setting up a short three-play, 14-yard TD drive early in the fourth quarter to make it 21-0 Irish, then scoring himself on a 96-yard pick-6 on Clemson’s ensuing possession for a 28-0 ND command.

“It means everything just, because like I pray for moments like this, dream of moments like this,” said Morrison, who added a pass breakup and a career-high seven tackles. “For it to actually come into full circle is a cool feeling, awesome feeling. Grateful. blessed.

“So my team gets all the credit. The front is crazy. They (create) all the pressure, so when you come to a school with a good D-line, that forces some interceptions, which is what happened tonight.

Senior defensive end Isaiah Foskey was credited with one of the four sacks, giving him 24 for his career and one short of passing Justin Tuck for the school record.

Mayer, per usual, was in the middle of it all. He was part of the many two-tight end formations with fellow tight end Mitchell Evans that helped the Notre Dame offense bully Clemson’s front seven. He also had a team-best four catches for 44 yards and a 17-yard TD reception that was the record-breaking 16th of his career.

The twist, though, was that he didn’t carry the Irish to victory this time. His teammates stepped up and matched his standard. Starting with Jordan Botelho with a blocked punt on Clemson’s first possession and Prince Kollie scooping it up and running 17 yards for a TD.

And continuing with linebacker JD Bertrand, with a team-high 12 tackles, including two for losses with a sack. And Jon Sot placing three punts inside the 20. And all the aforementioned players who helped ND rule in the trenches.

And then there’s quarterback Drew Pyne, who went 9-of-17 passing for 85 yards and a TD and with a 114.4 pass-efficiency rating that will drop him in the national stats for a fourth straight week.

“Man, he's a winner,” Freeman said. “And he has to be unselfish and continue not to look at stats. Just look at: Do I do the things necessary for us to win? And he did.”

Indeed, he played with toughness and poise. He played smart, having to run the offense half the game into a stiff wind. He ran the ball, including for a five-yard TD. And he opened up the possibility that he can start trending upwards again.

“We're going to keep fighting,” Mayer offered of what’s next. “No matter what anybody says or thinks about us, we don't care.

“We are going to keep fighting and keep practicing and keep our heads down and keep listening to coach Freeman, because he's a fantastic head coach. That's really it.”

NOTRE DAME 35, CLEMSON 14: Full Box Score


ND tight end Michael Mayer (87) tracks a TD toss from Irish QB Drew Pyne.
ND tight end Michael Mayer (87) tracks a TD toss from Irish QB Drew Pyne. (Jeff Douglas, Inside ND Sports)

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