Clemson At First Glance: Offensive Players Notre Dame Fans Need To Know
The game that was circled on everyone's calendar is finally here. Notre Dame vs Clemson is set for Saturday and it will look a bit different. Trevor Lawrence is out due to Covid, Xavier Thomas is out for the first half and others are out due to injury.
Even with Clemson missing some key pieces, this is still the best team in college football coming to South Bend. Here are three players to watch from the Clemson offense Saturday:
#9 TRAVIS ETIENNE, RUNNING BACK
2020 stats: 606 rushing yards, 9 TDs; 29 receptions 434 receiving yards, 2 TDs
Why Etienne is at Clemson still doesn't make any sense. He is the best running back in college football and likely could have been the first off the board if he left last year. Luckily for Clemson (unlucky for everyone else), Etienne is back.
Etienne is a strong back that has the ability to rip off a long run on every single play. He can split out wide or have just as much success receiving out of the backfield. He is a Christian McCaffrey level talent. Etienne also just set both school and conference records last week for the most rushing yards in a career.
The last time these two teams met, Etienne had 109 yards rushing and a touchdown on 14 attempts. Two years later and the key to winning is slowing down Etienne. A team won't hold Etienne to 10 carries for 12 yards. They just need to make sure he doesn't have a career day as you concede he will get his yards and make plays.
Slowing Etienne down is the key to a Notre Dame victory. He has fumbled in his last three games and it could be a game-changing spark if the Irish can force a turnover. However, bottling up the star RB will be the toughest task this season for a stingy defense.
#5 D.J. UIAGALELEI, QUARTERBACK
2020 stats: 444 passing yards, 2 TDs; 57 rush yards, 3 TDs
Uiagalelei wasn't the expected starter but Trevor Lawrence tested positive at the worst time. Due to ACC rules, Lawrence has to quarantine for 10 days and Saturday will only be nine days since his positive test. But Uiagalelei isn't a pushover and this doesn't lock up a Notre Dame win.
Uiagalelei is a former five-star QB and the top pro-style QB according to 247 Sports. He looked fantastic in his first start last week against Boston College, throwing for 342 yards and ripping off a 30-yard touchdown run that showed his versatility. As great as the Notre Dame defense has been, a mobile QB has given them all sorts of issues over the last few years.
Uiagalelei is green and will make some young mistakes as he will be making his second start in South Bend. But he is very different from your average freshman QB. He falls more into the Lawrence or Justin Fields camps as a special freshman. He isn't as polished obviously, however, he can impress despite his inexperience.
#3 AMARI RODGERS, WIDE RECEIVER
2020 stats: 40 receptions, 586 yards, 6 TDs
Rodgers is a name that should ring familiar to any college football fan. He is one of the very best receivers in all of college football and one-half of the major skill position threats for Clemson.
Rodgers stepped up to be the new number one once Clemson lost Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross. Despite drawing extra attention every week, Rodgers has answered the call. He has scored a touchdown in four of his seven games and has two games with multiple touchdowns.
Notre Dame held Rodgers in check the last time these two met. Despite Notre Dame losing 30-3 and giving up some big plays in the passing game, Rodgers was held to six receptions for 26 yards. He was the fourth option back in the 2018 playoff game and should have a much larger impact Saturday.
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