Notre Dame Football: Irish must take away Travis Etienne again
By Brad Weiss
Notre Dame Football: Irish must take away Travis Etienne again
Clemson returns Trevor Lawrence.
In the first matchup, the Irish had the luxury of missing out on playing against Trevor Lawrence, the man many believe will be the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The star quarterback for the Tigers was in the middle of a Heisman Trophy campaign when he was struck down with COVID-19, missing a handful of games, and turning the team over to true freshman D.J. Uiagalelei.
For what it is worth, Uiagalelei was not the cause of the loss for the Tigers, as he passed for nearly 450 yards against this Irish defense. However, not having the usual explosive plays from Etienne hurt the Tigers as the game went on, and Notre Dame was able to pin their ears back and attack him in the second overtime.
The Irish sacked Uiagalelei twice on that final drive, sealing what would be the signature win in the career of Ian Book.
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Saturday, Lawrence will be back under center for the Tigers, and after throwing for over 400 yards in his return against Pitt, he had a bit of an underwhelming game the last time out against Virginia Tech. If the Irish can neutralize Etienne again, that once again takes away half of what this high-powered Clemson offense likes to do, which would prove to be a huge advantage.