Notre Dame football had a chance to be better Saturday vs. Clemson. It wasn't
CLEMSON, S.C. — What unceremoniously morphed into the most important game of Marcus Freeman’s nearly two-year head coaching tenure at Notre Dame, evaporated into yet another missed opportunity Saturday.
Unranked Clemson’s 31-23 subtle survival of the 12th-ranked Irish at sun-splashed Memorial Stadium was a painful and palpable end to the dreamy expectations Notre Dame harbored heading into the final month of its regular season.
More: Four observations on Notre Dame football game at Clemson
A three-point favorite coming into the Death Valley showdown with the reeling Tigers and their battered head coach Dabo Swinney was supposed to be a steppingstone in the evolution of Freeman and his 12th-ranked Irish.
It was supposed to be a statement to the College Football Playoff committee that slotted Notre Dame 15th on Tuesday, that it was still worthy of New Year’s Six Bowl consideration.
It was supposed to be a gut punch to the unranked and shorthanded Tigers who were staring down a potential third consecutive loss for the first time in Swinney’s illustrious career dating back to 2008.
It wasn’t any of that.
Here in the Palmetto State, the Irish (7-3) didn’t exactly take a step backward, but rather failed to take a step forward.
While short of its usual CFP-caliber heyday under Swinney in which it won two national championships, Clemson is still Clemson in many ways, even at 5-4. In what was mostly a statistically even game, the Tigers proved the more disciplined and least mistake-prone team on the field.
Grading the Irish: Mostly poor marks after Clemson repeatedly tried to give game away
They won special teams, pinning Notre Dame inside its own 15-yard line five times in the second half and recovering a muffed punt by Chris Tyree, who later misplayed another.
They didn’t commit a penalty the entire game while the Irish were guilty of five, the costliest being a holding call on a 21-yard gain by Audric Estime that led to a Sam Hartman pick-six a play later.
And they successfully rode the hot hand of running back Phil Mafah, who in the absence of injured starter Will Shipley, carried 36 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
It seems “Tyler from Spartanbug,” who confronted Swinney during a radio call-in show about his $11 million salary with a then 4-4 record, got some answers Saturday. Dabo can still coach and by beating the Irish became the program’s all-time winningest coach, surpassing Frank Howard with 166 victories.
But back to Freeman and the Irish, who went from a potential Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl appearance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to a much more likely trip to Orlando for the Pop-Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium.
Talk about moving down the food chain.
What’s more alarming is that this Notre Dame team was supposed to be better than last year’s 9-3 Gator Bowl champions. It was upgraded at quarterback with Hartman, the sixth-year transfer from Wake Forest, and even stauncher on defense, particularly the secondary.
What’s missing is consistency. Notre Dame played well enough to win against Ohio State, but flinched in the final minutes, particularly when it came to coaching. It was out schemed against upstart Louisville, but rebounded with blowouts of USC and Pittsburgh.
How the points were scored: Clemson stings Notre Dame football, 31-23
And now this. What are we to make of these two Jekyll-and-Hyde seasons under Freeman?
Rest assured, as puzzling as losses to unranked Marshall and Stanford were last year, this unranked Clemson team is a completely different animal with elite talent all over the field and a sudden chip on its shoulder after “Tyler from Spartanburg” picked up the phone.
Now it’s time for the Irish to answer the call. A week to rest, recover and regroup should help against remaining outmatched opponents Wake Forest and Stanford.
A victory in the Pop-Tarts Bowl — or wherever Notre Dame lands — would round out a sixth 10-win season in seven years. It may not seem like it now, but that’s important.
Saturday was another hard learning experience for Freeman and the Irish. It’s not what they wanted, but it’s what’s left for now.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football fall short against Clemson Saturday in Death Valley
