Game Observations - Defense: Notre Dame Beats Clemson
The battle between the Notre Dame defense and the Clemson offense played out exactly how you expected. Both units had their moments, but both units also struggled against their high-powered opposition at times.
In the end, however, it was the Notre Dame defense that made the final game-winning plays in the 47-40 upset over the top-ranked Tigers.
Here is my post-game analysis of the play of the Irish defense.
*** It was obvious that Notre Dame was focused on shutting down the Clemson run game, and for the most part they did just that. Travis Etienne went for 10 yards on his first carry of the game, he ended the game with 18 carries for 28 yards. Clemson rushed for just 34 yards in the game (add 14 for sacks).
*** Tackling was one of the biggest issues in the game, and there were too many instances when the Irish pass rush wasn't good enough, but when the defense needed the pass rush to come through in overtime it stepped up on back-to-back plays to put the game away.
*** There were coverage mistakes in the game that proved costly, and the result were too many big plays, which was a big reason Clemson was able to claw back into the game. But the secondary also stepped up and made plays.
*** On Clemson's final possession, they tried to run a pump fake to get a shot down field but the secondary didn't fall for it, covered down field and allowed the pass rush to hit home.
*** Notre Dame's pass rush came through at the end of the game, but Clemson ripped off far too many big plays in the game, and the lack of a pass rush was often at the core of it. Notre Dame also had issues with Clemson's gimmick plays that created big play opportunities.
*** Up front, the player that stood out to me throughout the game was defensive tackle Kurt Hinish. He got knocked off the ball on the first defensive snap of the game, but after the senior from Pittsburgh played outstanding football.
*** Hinish was extremely disruptive against the run, making plays with penetration and also anchoring against drive blocks and double teams. My play-by-play notes were filled with comments about Hinish making a key play in a stop.
*** Notre Dame's senior ends were outstanding in this football game. The pass rush wasn't always there, but it was there when it mattered most, and their stout play against the run played a major role in this game.
*** Daelin Hayes played an excellent all-around football game. He was a force as an edge setter, he closed off well from the backside and there were multiple snaps when Hayes jumped underneath D.J. Uiagalelei's intended target and forced him to go to his next option or to throw the ball away. Hayes did a great job taking on pullers when Clemson tried to run at him, and it was a big reason for the lack of run game success by the Tigers.
*** Hayes didn't get much pressure on the quarterback until late, but his overtime sack of Uiagalelei was a tremendous important play because it put Clemson into a 3rd-and-24 situation that it just couldn't recover from.
*** Adetokunbo Ogundeji also had a crucial sack in overtime, but until that point his best work was in the run game. My notes are filled with "great edge set" when reviewing his performance. Ogundeji was extremely physical at the point of attack, either forcing quick cuts inside or forcing a bounce that allowed his teammates to rally to the ball.
*** Back ups Justin Ademilola, Isaiah Foskey and Ovie Oghoufo all had their moments in this game as well and provided quality snaps. Foskey was especially active in this game.
*** I liked the effort and hustle of defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, but there were too many snaps where he had a chance to finish off with a tackle but he missed.
*** Notre Dame needed Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to play like an All-American, and he did just that. Owusu-Koramoah made plays all over the field and in every aspect of the game. He had a few too many missed tackles in the game.. He was in good position on a quick slide route, but instead of making a tackle for a short gain he failed to bring down the receiver and it went for a big gain, setting up a Clemson score.
*** The reason I bring this up is because on the very next series, Owusu-Koramoah exploded off the edge, got to Etienne almost as soon as he received a pitch from Uiagalelei, and when the ball was bobbled he took it away from Etienne and returned it for a touchdown. On the next defensive series, Owusu-Koramoah got beat on a slant route that looked to convert a third-down, but he stripped the receiver and it was recovered by the Irish defense.
*** That means on back-to-back series, Owusu-Koramoah made game-changing plays that resulted in 10 points for Notre Dame.
*** Owusu-Koramoah was around the ball the entire game, and his ability to play sideline-to-sideline negated a lot of what Clemson wanted to do with its perimeter pass game and perimeter run game.
*** Junior Shayne Simon has caught a lot of heat in these game observations, and his struggles are well-documented. The talented junior decided to wait until the No. 1 team in the country came into town to have the best game of his career.
*** Simon was all over the field for Notre Dame, and this was by far his more active and aggressive game. He attacked downhill all game long, and I have "great fill" and "strong read by Simon" marked in my notes throughout the game. If you want to see an example, go read the first 3rd-and-1 of the game, when Simon stepped over, made his read and then exploded through the hole to tackle the back for a loss, forcing a punt.
*** The only minus I had for Simon was not getting enough depth on an out cut by the tight end that ended up going for a big play. Outside of that I thought the junior played very good football.
*** One of my knocks of him is that he doesn't show a lot of instincts, but that wasn't the case in this game. An example is a snap in the first half. when Simon blitzed, but the QB got the ball out quickly. Simon read it, quickly got off the ground and knocked down the pass, forcing a punt. In the second half, Simon was all over a receiver on a scramble play, and the fact he never lost the wideout was a positive step and shows improvement.
*** Fifth-year senior Drew White was active all game long. He was physical at the point of attack and clogged up inside run lanes. White also made a couple of plays in the pass game, something we haven't seen much of this season, so that was a positive development. The negative is that he bit too hard on a run fake, which allowed Etienne to run by him up the seam for a 22-yard gain.
*** It was a rough night for the cornerbacks and safeties in the pass game. Junior TaRiq Bracy got beat on back-to-back plays early in the game, giving up a third-down conversion because he was playing off and was late to react, and then using poor footwork on a post route that ended up going for a long touchdown.
*** Bracy got benched in the second half and freshman Clarence Lewis replaced him. Lewis was solid, but he too played really soft coverage and was late to react on out cuts in those instances.
*** Veteran Nick McCloud was a bit up and down. He got beat deep late in the game and turned a slide route loose to give up a third-down conversion in the first half. His run support was solid and he also had a few strong closes that helped force incompletions.
*** I'll need to go back and break down the play of the safeties a bit more. They looked late reacting to the seam routes and post routes all game long. There were a lot of poor angles and just not reacting to crossers and over-the-middle routes for much of the game. There were some flashes, but the secondary just gave up too many big plays in the pass game.
*** The one safety that did play well for the most part was sophomore Kyle Hamilton. The talented safety had eight solo tackles and had a big tackle for loss on an outside zone play in the first half.
*** Senior Shaun Crawford also had a few big plays in the game, especially coming downhill against the run or playing the alleys against the perimeter screens/passes. Crawford broke up a third-down throw in overtime that forced a 4th-and-24, which was a huge play in the game. If Crawford doesn't make the read he did and deliver the big hit the Tigers are in a much more manageable fourth-down play.
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