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Notre Dame-Clemson: By The Numbers

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Dexter Williams finished with 54 hard earned rushing yards against Clemson's stout defense, and finished with 995 for the year in nine games played.
Dexter Williams finished with 54 hard earned rushing yards against Clemson's stout defense, and finished with 995 for the year in nine games played. (Bill Panzica)
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1 Touchdown pass allowed by Notre Dame of more than 20 yards during the 12-0 regular season, that coming on a 27-yard tally by Northwestern on Nov. 3. During the second quarter alone, Clemson scored on 52- and 42-yard scoring passes from quarterback Trevor Lawrence to Justyn Ross — and then finished the half with a 19-yard six-pointer to Tee Higgins with two seconds remaining.


3 Points tallied by the Fighting Irish in the loss to Clemson, the fewest in its 37-game bowl history. The previous record was six, first in a 40-6 Orange Bowl loss to Nebraska on Jan. 1, 1973. That was matched in a 28-6 defeat to North Carolina State in the Jan. 1, 2003 Gator Bowl. The three points also matched the fewest in the nine-year Brian Kelly era, with the other occurring in a 10-3 setback at North Carolina State amidst a hurricane on Oct. 8, 2016.


8 Consecutive major bowl losses by Notre Dame since the 41-24 defeat to Colorado in the Jan. 2, 1995 Fiesta Bowl. The average margin of defeat in those setbacks has been 20.8 points, and 28 (to Alabama), 16 (to Ohio State) and 27 (to Clemson) under Kelly.


13 Wins in a row achieved by the Fighting Irish since last January before it came to an end. This streak tied the 1973-74 teams for the third-most by the football program in the 69 years since 1950. At the top is the school-record 23 straight wins by the 1988-89 juggernauts, followed by 17 in a row by the 1992-93 editions.


19 Tackles recorded by junior safety Alohi Gilman, a single-game record in the five-year history of the College Football Playoff. Senior linebacker Te’von Coney reached 16, which was one short of his career high 17 in last year’s Citrus Bowl victory versus LSU.


18-19 Bowl record of Notre Dame after the defeat to Clemson. The Fighting Irish have not been above .500 in the postseason since Dec. 28, 2004, when it was 13-12 before losing 38-21 to Oregon State in the Insight Bowl. At the end of the 1993 season 25 years ago, Notre Dame was 13-6 in bowl games, the best winning percentage (.684) among any team that had participated in a minimum of 15 such games.

This was the fifth time Notre Dame entered a major bowl with an unblemished record. The others were the 1925 Rose Bowl, 1973 Sugar Bowl and 1989 Fiesta Bowl — in which it clinched the national title in all three with victories — and the 2013 BCS Championship loss to Alabama. The Irish also are now 8-3 against unbeaten teams in postseason events.


68.15 Percent completion percentage junior quarterback Ian Book finished with this year after a 17 of 34 performance for 160 yards, by far his least productive of the campaign. That was just enough to still set a new single season school record, which Jimmy Clausen set at 68.00 in 2009. Book finished 214 of 314, while Clausen was 289 of 425.


360 Minutes played by Notre Dame in the six major bowls and or College Football Playoff since the turn of the century in 2000. The Fighting Irish have led a total of 2:57 in those outings. That was 7-0 in the first quarter of the 34-20 loss to Ohio State in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.


367 Points scored by senior kicker Justin Yoon during his four-year career after converting his lone field-goal attempt versus Clemson in his final game. That is the new career scoring standard at the school, surpassing the 33-year standard of 320 held by 1982-85 running back Allen Pinkett.


995 Yards rushing by senior Dexter Williams this season in only nine games after picking up 54 hard earned ones on 16 carries versus the Tigers. He just missed becoming the fourth different back in head coach Brian Kelly’s nine seasons to eclipse the 1,000-yard barrier: Cierre Wood in 2011 (1,102), C.J. Prosise in 2015 (1,032) and Josh Adams in 2017 (1,430).


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