Players of the Game: Notre Dame vs. Iowa State

The line for the Camping World Bowl was tight, but Notre Dame showed early that it was the far superior team, dominating Iowa State for a 33-9 victory that was never competitive.

There were clear standouts in all three phases of the game.

OFFENSE

WR Chase Claypool — 7 catches, 146 yards, 20.9 YPC, 1 TD

Claypool finished his Notre Dame career off in incredibly impressive fashion. His seven catches tied his season high (Navy, Boston College) and his 146 yards were his best mark of the season and the second best mark of his career, behind only his 180-yard performance against Wake Forest back in 2017.

The senior receiver made his presence felt immediately, recovering an Iowa State fumble early in the first quarter. On Notre Dame’s third possession, Claypool got free up the right sideline and made an impressive back shoulder catch for a 24-yard touchdown. The body control and ball skills Claypool showed on that touchdown perfectly represented the kind of season Claypool had this fall.

A 13-yard gain on a crossing route on a 3rd-and-17 set up a field goal, and Claypool worked himself free for a 43-yard gain on a scramble that set up the team’s final touchdown of the first half. On the previous series, Claypool punished an Iowa State defender on a corner route, getting open for a 32-yard gain that set up another Irish field goal. Claypool had four catches for 112 yards in the first half, but he wasn’t done. Claypool caught a third-quarter screen pass and turned it into a 21-yard gain, which set up another Irish score.

Claypool earned Camping World Bowl MVP honors. He finished the 2019 season with 66 catches for 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns.

DEFENSE

LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah — 9 tackles, 4 TFL’s, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble

Owusu-Koramoah steadily got better throughout the 2019 season, but he saved his best performance for the Camping World Bowl. The junior rover was dominant from start to finish, putting up impressive all-around numbers in the victory. Owusu-Koramoah made a major impact from the outset, stripping Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy behind the line and then recovering the fumble.

Owusu-Koramoah started to take the game over in the second half. A third quarter sack was following by his tackle for loss of ISU running back Breece Hall that knocked the Cyclones back six yards and all but shut down a third-quarter series. On the next defensive series Owusu-Koramoah sacked Purdy on a fourth-down. That play knocked Purdy out of the game and all but ended any hopes Iowa State had of coming back in the game.

The Irish junior did a little bit of everything. He had three sacks, bringing down the Iowa State quarterback in space and on edge pressures. His speed in space played a huge role in shutting down the perimeter run game and screen game the Cyclones like to employ. Owusu-Koramoah was physical on the edge and played well in pursuit. His pass coverage was top notch and of course, his turnovers and clutch plays were incredibly impactful in the victory.

Iowa State simply had no answers for Owusu-Koramoah’s athleticism and playmaking skills. Owusu-Koramoah finished the season with 80 tackles and 5.5 sacks. His 13.5 tackles for loss and 54 solo tackles led the Irish defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS

S Alohi Gilman — 2 special teams tackles, 1 forced fumble

Gilman played well on defense, but he was even better on special teams, finishing with a pair of tackles and forcing a key early turnover. After the Irish offense punted after a three-and-out, Gilman stripped Iowa State return man Tarique Milton, giving the Irish the ball at the Cyclone 42-yard line. That set up Notre Dame’s first score of the game.

Gilman had a tackle on kick coverage that prevented Iowa State from getting the ball out to the 25-yard line, and he had a punt coverage tackle that stopped the Cyclone return man for no gain.

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