What Clemson's Upset Loss Means for Notre Dame

As Notre Dame fans sit and wait for the Fighting Irish to take on Texas A&M on Saturday night, they likely are sitting around or are at an establishment watching a good amount of other college football games.

The early games Saturday for Week 3 of college football largely left much to be desired, but the bout between unranked Georgia Tech and No. 12 Clemson delivered in Atlanta.

Georgia Tech started hot, taking a 13-0 lead in the second quarter before a Clemson charge put the Tigers in front early in the third. The teams exchanged touchdowns in the fourth quarter before Georgia Tech rallied behind quarterback Haynes King to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired.

For Georgia Tech, it's the first time they've beaten Clemson since 2014. For Clemson, it's a massive hit to College Football Playoff chances that were already wavering.

AIDAN BIRR CALLS GAME 🤯@GeorgiaTechFB WINS!!!

📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/XBX91a3foO
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) September 13, 2025

Clemson's ACC and Playoff Chances Take a Hit

Clemson already lost at home in Week 1 to LSU, but Saturday's loss dropped the Tigers to 1-2 and 0-1 in ACC play. From a Notre Dame perspective, it's not so much that Clemson lost on Saturday, but more so that 25% of the way through the regular season, it looks to be a step behind at least a couple of teams in the ACC.

Miami, which beat Notre Dame 27-24 in Week 1, is clearly one of those teams at this point. As uncomfortable as it is for Fighting Irish fans, they'll have to spend their fall rooting for the Hurricanes, as each win Miami puts up makes that Fighting Irish loss look better.

As the early games Saturday wind down, Florida State and Miami look early to be the class of the conference, but we'll learn more in the coming weeks. Georgia Tech's first 3-0 start since 2016, and having Haynes King clearly makes them an intriguing threat as well.

After losing at home to LSU, struggling mightily against Troy, and now losing to Georgia Tech, it's clear Clemson isn't anything near the national championship contender it opened the year being widely viewed as.

Notre Dame's To-Do List for Saturday Night

Clemson's loss helps Notre Dame at least a little bit in that the ACC is starting to fall the way it needs to for Miami. SMU already has a home loss against Baylor and Clemson has two losses just three weeks into the year.

That's all fine and dandy, but Notre Dame has to take care of its own business. The nice part of being a fan of a team is that you can spend time and energy scoreboard watching and wondering a lot of what-if scenarios.

The fact of the matter is, none of what happens with Clemson, Miami, or anyone else matters for Notre Dame, if the Irish don't take of their own business.

And that next step comes at 7:30 p.m. ET against Texas A&M.