Notre Dame vs Clemson: A Tale Of Two Narratives
The lead up to the Notre Dame vs. Clemson rematch is going to focus on two competing narratives, at least when looking at how the two fanbases describe how the first game went. Notre Dame won that game in double overtime, besting the Tigers by a 47-40 score.
CLEMSON NARRATIVE
“Of course Notre Dame won, Clemson didn’t have Trevor Lawrence” is the cry you hear coming out of the state of South Carolina. “Oh and we didn’t have our three best defensive players, so of course Notre Dame moved the ball.”
And Clemson couldn’t run D.J. Uiagalelei because he had an injured shoulder, and he made freshman mistakes that negate the yards he threw for.
Notre Dame won’t run on Clemson in the title game like they did on Nov. 7 because Davis, Skalski and Jones are back.
NOTRE DAME NARRATIVE
“No way Trevor Lawrence could play better than D.J. Uiagalelei, I mean, the guy threw for 439 yards!” Is what you hear from a lot of Notre Dame fans.
And Notre Dame wins by three touchdowns if they don’t fumble the ball into the end zone and have two self-inflicted red zone wounds that stopped the Irish from scoring touchdowns. And don’t even get me started on the poor clock management at the end of the second quarter.
THE TRUTH LIES IN THE MiDDLE
In a way, both sides are speaking the truth … or at least a partial truth.
Clemson fans are correct in that Lawrence, the nation’s most talented and distinguished quarterback, did not play in that game, and that certainly matteres. Not having defensive tackle Tyler Davis, or linebackers James Skalski and Mike Jones, also had an impact.
Notre Dame could very well have won the game in far more convincing fashion had it not fumbled a ball into the end zone in the third quarter, or missed on two more touchdown opportunities due to a dropped pass at the goal line and a false start that negated what would have been a touchdown run. Those mistakes were self-inflicted wounds, not necessarily plays the Clemson defense made.
Irish fans are also right that Uiagalelei threw for a lot of yards and made some big time throws in that game. Clemson fans are correct in that Lawrence might have thrown for even more yards, or perhaps he would have been more clutch, or more efficient had he thrown for fewer yards. I, for one, have a hard time believing Lawrence takes that first sack in the second overtime.
Lawrence playing might have impacted the run game as well, although Clemsons struggled to run against Pittsburgh with Lawrence, and it wasn’t very good running on Syracuse with Lawrence either.
But all of this is conjecture in that no one really knows how that game would have played out if things were different. It’s not as simple to say, “If this happens then the result would be this other thing.”
If Lawrence plays, maybe the offense is even better, and plays as well in the first half as it did in the second half. Perhaps Lawrence would have made more mistakes than usual against the vaunted Irish defense. Both are just as plausible and unprovable.
Maybe Notre Dame has a different game plan when facing Lawrence, on both sides of the ball. Perhaps with Lawrence at quarterback the Irish offense would have gone or the jugular in the third quarter if they knew Lawrence was on the other side of the field. Perhaps the Irish defense would have been more aggressive against Clemson, knowing it couldn’t let Lawrence take over.
Notre Dame had a lot of success throwing the ball on Clemson, and perhaps the Irish have a more pass oriented game plan if Davis, Skalski and Jones were playing. That’s just as much of a guess as saying what Clemson would have done had Lawrence played.
Here is what we do know for a fact. Clemson will be “healthier” against Notre Dame, and if the Tigers win I highly doubt their fans will say, “Hey, Notre Dame wasn’t the same team because their offensive line wasn’t 100%.”
We also know that Notre Dame has played with even greater confidence because of that win over Clemson, and that isn’t going away because Lawrence played. Clemson will also be confident knowing they have their leader.
Clemson will be hungry, and Notre Dame will be confident, but neither will ultimately determine the outcome. This game will be determined by which lines play the best, which teams playmakers make the most clutch plays, which coaching staff makes the most adjustments based on the last game, and makes the most adjustments in game.
Oh, and which quarterback can best put his team on his shoulders, and which defense plays championship football.
There will be no more excuses, for either team.
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