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

Notre Dame Football will need to plan for Trevor Lawrence

Arguably the biggest headline of this rematch is the fact that superstar quarterback Trevor Lawrence will be commanding the huddle for Clemson. Lawrence missed the first meeting due to him testing positive for COVID-19 and not being able to clear ACC health protocols before the game.

Taking his place was former five-star signal caller D.J. Uiagalelei, who made his second career start vs the Irish and his first on the road.

In case you somehow didn’t know, or failed to watch the first game between these two teams, Uiagalelei put up a modest 439 yards through the air, three total touchdowns, and no turnovers. The 439 passing yards were, and are, the most yards given up through the air in a game in Notre Dame history.

Not bad for a true freshman.

His historic performance was the base counter-argument for the redundant idea that Notre Dame would have been ‘blown out’ if Lawrence played the first go-round. While it is impossible to determine that, Lawrence likely would not have done any better than what Uiagalelei was able to do, and Lawrence wouldn’t have been able to stop the Irish from scoring 47 points, either.

That’s besides the point, but the fact is that the presumptive No. 1 NFL Draft pick is back, and since his return, Clemson hasn’t missed a beat, putting up 52 vs Pittsburgh and 45 vs Virginia over the last two weeks.

This Saturday, Lawrence will face the toughest defense he’s seen this season to date. The Irish will also be playing the best quarterback they’ve seen to date, although Uiagalelei and North Carolina’s Sam Howell will both be playing on Sundays. Regardless, a Lawrence-run Clemson offense taking on this Irish defense is going to be one of the most anticipated matchups of the entire college football season.