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Notre Dame Football: ACC Championship top 3 storylines vs. Clemson

By Connor McJunkin

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 07: Wide receiver Javon McKinley #88 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts after a catch in the third quarter agains the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium on November 7, 2020 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 07: Wide receiver Javon McKinley #88 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts after a catch in the third quarter agains the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium on November 7, 2020 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame Football
Notre Dame football will look to capture an ACC title on Saturday.  (Photo by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images) /

After finishing a perfect 10-0 in the regular season, Notre Dame football has its eyes set on an ACC Championship. Here are the top storylines.

Wait, I thought joining a conference was supposed to make things harder for Notre Dame football? All jokes aside, we’re now just a few days away from the biggest Notre Dame football game since, well, six weeks ago, when they showed they were a legitimate playoff contender by beating then-No. 1 Clemson.

The instant classic on November 7 hardly needs to be revisited, but just because it’s fun to write,  the Irish took down then-No. 1 Clemson 47-40 in double overtime. Ian Book put together a near-perfect game and Brian Kelly and company were able to extend the nation’s longest win streak and longest home win streak.

More importantly, Notre Dame finally delivered in a big game. It was the biggest win since defeating No. 8 Oklahoma 30-13 in 2012, and the first time the Irish knocked off the No. 1 team in the country since beating FSU in 1993.

Simply put, it was arguably the most important, impactful win Notre Dame football has had in nearly three decades. Since the win, the Irish continued their ACC takeover tour, handling business vs Boston College, North Carolina, and Syracuse en route to their third undefeated regular season of the Brian Kelly era.

The 10-0 record and No. 2 ranking has this team in a prime position to make their second College Football Playoff in three years, regardless of the outcome of this week’s game.

While we’d rather not chance that, the fact of the matter is Notre Dame is in a much better position to punch their ticket to the big dance compared to Clemson. An Irish loss most likely drops them to No. 4 while a Clemson loss would be their second of the season and eliminate their CFP hopes.

The storylines leading up to the first matchup were endless, mostly surrounding the absence of Trevor Lawrence due to a positive COVID-19 test less than two weeks before the game. A month and a half later, the storylines look a little bit different.

Here are some of the biggest things to watch during Saturday’s Notre Dame-Clemson rematch for the ACC Championship.

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