Notre Dame Football: Irish must take away Travis Etienne again
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team was able to keep Travis Etienne in check the first time around, and that will prove huge once again in the ACC title game.
The Notre Dame football team will take on the Clemson Tigers in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday, this after rolling through the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record. Across their regular-season schedule, the Irish played host to the Tigers back in November, putting together a stunning overtime victory.
In that game, the Irish defense has the tall task of taking away Clemson star running back Travis Etienne, a player many believe to be the only running back to land in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Known for his ability to not only make plays running the ball, but also being a menace out of the backfield, Etienne went into the game fresh off a performance against Boston College that saw him rack up 220 all-purpose yards.
Notre Dame’s defense harassed Etienne all game long, holding the ACC’s all-time leading rusher to only 28 yards on the ground. The star back was able to muster less than two yards per carry, and while he did have eight receptions, none of them went for big plays, which proved to be huge down the stretch.
Saturday, stopping Etienne will be key for the Irish, who will have to deal with Trevor Lawrence at quarterback.