4 Times, per ESPN research, since the start of the Associated Press poll in 1936 that two teams ranked in the top four met during the regular season — and then again in a postseason contest when they were still ranked in the top four.
In each of the four, the losing team won the rematch by at least 21 points:
• In 1959, No. 1 LSU defeated No. 3 Ole Miss 7-3 at home. Then in the Sugar Bowl, No. 2 Ole Miss whipped No. 3 LSU 21-0.
• In 1996, No. 1 Florida lost 24-21 to No. 2 Florida State. In the Sugar Bowl, the No. 3-ranked Gators then captured their first national title with a 52-20 demolition of the No. 1-ranked Seminoles.
• In 2011, No. 1 LSU won 9-6 in overtime at No. 2 Alabama. Then in the BCS Championship in New Orleans (and eerily similar to 1959), the top-ranked Tigers this time lost 21-0 to the No. 2 Crimson Tide.
• In 2020, the 47-40 double-overtime win by Notre Dame Nov. 7 was countered by a 34-10 drubbing from the Tigers.
6 Consecutive appearances in the ACC Championship by Clemson, and it has won each versus a different opponent: North Carolina (45-37 in 2015), Virginia Tech (42-35 in 2016), Miami (38-3 in 2017), Pittsburgh (42-10 in 2018), Virginia (62-17 in 2019) and Notre Dame (34-10 in 2020).
Each of the last four have been held in Charlotte, N.C., where the Tigers have outscored their foes by an average of 44-10, with the Fighting Irish coming the closest in a “mere” 24-point loss.
13.0 Points averaged by Notre Dame in its seven defeats over the past four years while producing a glittering 43-7 mark. In not one of those games did they score more than 20, continuing a pattern of the offense especially playing below par in losses.
16 Victories in a row by Notre Dame snapped in the defeat. In the 71 years since 1949, that is the third-longest winning streak by the program, behind the school-record 23 in 1988-89 and 17 in 1992-93. In a fourth-place tie with 13 apiece are 1973-74 and 2017-18.
44 Net rushing yards by Notre Dame, including six sacks of fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book. That was the lowest output on the ground in a game since the 42-14 defeat to Alabama in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game in which the Irish totaled just 32 yards on 19 carries.
Also coming close were 55 yards in the 20-19 loss to Georgia in 2017, last year’s 45-14 defeat at Michigan in which only 47 yards were gained rushing, and last season again with 46 yards in the 23-17 setback at Georgia.
92 Receiving yards by Notre Dame tight ends, freshman Michael Mayer (51 on five catches) and junior Tommy Tremble (41 on two grabs). The 92 yards by the duo were the second-highest output in a game this season, behind only the 99 yards on eight receptions they had in the first meeting with Clemson.
224.0 Rushing yards allowed per game by Notre Dame in its last two outings against two vastly different opponents — 1-10 Syracuse (229) and 10-1 Clemson (219). In the first nine contests this year the Fighting Irish permitted only 85.3 rushing yards per game to rank fourth nationally.
The Orange averaged 6.5 yards per carry while the Tigers were at 8.1 per attempt.
541 Yards of total offense compiled by Clemson (322 passing, 219 rushing), which surpassed the 538 the Tigers produced in the 30-3 defeat of Notre Dame in the 2018 College Football Playoff. This was the most yardage permitted by the Fighting Irish since, believe it or not, Wake Forest produced 587 during a 48-37 loss at Notre Dame in 2017.
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