Key Takeaways From The Win Over Clemson: Defense

Notre Dame earned a hard-fought 47-40 victory over Clemson, who entered the weekend ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation. The Fighting Irish defense competed hard, winning some battles and losing some, but when the game was on the line it came up huge.

There was plenty to learn about the defense from the win, and here are my key takeaways for the defense from the victory.

Stop Travis Etienne … Mission Accomplished

Stopping Clemson star running back Travis Etienne was an absolute must for Notre Dame, and the Irish did just that. Remove sacks and kneel downs, and Notre Dame held Clemson to 49 rushing yards on 30 carries, an incredibly impressive performance. Clemson’s 34 total rushing yards was its lowest output since it had the same number back in 2011.

Etienne was a big part of the Clemson offense, touching the football 26 times on offense, but the Irish held him to just 85 total yards. He had 28 rushing yards on 18 carries and 57 receiving yards on eight catches. Keep in mind that Etienne went for 10 yards on his first carry of the game, which means his final 17 rushes went for just 18 yards.

By keeping Etienne from taking over, the Irish put the game on the shoulders of freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. While the talented first-year quarterback put up great numbers and showed poise beyond his years, when the game was on the line he wasn’t enough for Clemson, who scored just once on its final three possessions.

Shayne Simon Arrives At Just The Right Time

Junior linebacker Shayne Simon was a top recruit for Notre Dame, and his raw talent has never been questioned, but his play in his first five games of the 2020 season was average at best. Simon struggled week after week, to the point where you had to wonder what the Irish defensive staff saw from him in practice that kept them putting him out there week after week despite his subpar performance.

Well, against Clemson we started to see a glimpse of why the staff kept going with Simon. The talented junior had his best career game - by far - racking up four tackles, a tackle for loss and two pass break ups. Consider that Simon had just six total tackles (4 solo stops) in his first five games.

Simon was aggressive and productive from the outset. On Clemson’s first series, Simon stepped into the hole and drilled Etienne behind the line of scrimmage on a 3rd-and-1 to force a punt. We saw another strong fill on the next series, and on the third series he had a pass break up on a blitz.

The tentativeness that we saw from Simon in past games was gone, and he used his athleticism to consistently beat blockers to the point of attack. Outside of one bad drop in coverage, this was also a clean game for Simon, who also showed improve ability to get off blocks.

If this becomes a launching point for Simon the Irish defense is going to be even better than it was the first six games.

Stars Being Stars

To pull off upsets like Notre Dame did against Clemson, you need your best players, your more veteran players, your leaders to make big plays. We certainly saw that with the Irish defense in the win over Clemson.

Rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was the best defensive player on the field last night, racking up nine tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. The veteran had two game changing plays that led to 10 Irish points, with the first being a fumble return that he took back 23 yards for a touchdown. On the very next possession, Owusu-Koramoah stripped a Clemson wideout on a third-down throw, and the recovery set up an Irish field goal drive.

Senior ends Daelin Hayes and Adetokunbo Ogundeji were outstanding against the Irish. Their pass rush was inconsistent (see below), but they racked up back-to-back sacks in the second overtime, which put Clemson so far behind the sticks it had no chance at converting. Where the veteran duo was at its best was playing the run. Their ability to dominate on the edge played a vital role to Notre Dame shutting down the Clemson run game.

Sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton was outstanding in the game, and sixth-year senior Shaun Crawford overcame a blown coverage assignment to make multiple big-time plays in the game, including breaking up a third-down pass in the second overtime that forced a 4th-and-24.

Inconsistent Pass Rush Comes Up Clutch Yet Again

Putting together a consistent pass rush has been an issue for Notre Dame in recent games, and at times that cost the defense in the win over Clemson. The Tigers had a pair of huge 50+ yard receptions, and on both the pass rush gave Uiagalelei way too much time and comfort to rip off accurate passes.

What the pass rush lacked in consistency it made up for with clutchness. A pressure by Jayson Ademilola helped lead to a Clemson field goal attempt, and a third-down pressure from Bo Bauer forced another Clemson field goal on a red zone drive in which the Tigers had a chance to take an early lead. Defensive tackle Kurt Hinish also had a third-down pressure that forced an incompletion.

Of course, the two most important pass rushes came in the second overtime. After the Irish offense scored a touchdown to make it a 47-40 game, Ogundeji kicked off the ensuing defensive series with a 9-yard sack that put Clemson way behind the sticks.

On the very next play, Hayes blew past Clemson guard Cade Stewart to drill Uiagalelei in the backfield for a 5-yard loss, which made it a 3rd-and-24 for the offense.

Too Many Big Pass Plays Allowed

Notre Dame allowed far too many big plays in the pass game, which is ultimately what Clemson in the game. The Tigers had seven pass plays of at least 22 yards, and two went for over 50 yards. On each series in which the Tigers had a pass play of at last 20 yards they got points.

On Clemson’s only touchdown drive in which it did not rip off a big play, the pass defense gave up a gain of 16 yards on a 2nd-and-13 and a 15-yard gain on a 2nd-and-11. The Tigers also converted a 3rd-and-12 with a 16-yard pass play earlier in the game, which set up a field goal.

Should Notre Dame and Clemson meet for the ACC title on Dec. 19, the Irish defense will need to do a much better job limiting big plays.

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