Notre Dame Football: Irish embarrassed in ACC Championship Game

The Notre Dame football team was blasted by the Clemson Tigers in the ACC Championship Game, falling to 10-1 on the season.

The Notre Dame football team went into the ACC Championship Game as a double-digit underdog, but many believed that they would not only keep it close, but some felt they could come away with the upset victory. Early on, it looked like they could shock the Clemson Tigers, getting out to a 3-0 lead, and then picking off Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Unfortunately, their drive would stall, and Jonathan Doerer would miss a chip-shot field goal, a play that would prove to be the turning point in the game. From there on out, the Tigers would dominate the Irish on both sides of the ball, leaving the Irish with so many questions as they left Bank of America Stadium.

Irish could get nothing going on offense

Book lost as the starting quarterback for the Irish for only the fourth time in his career, and this was a bad one. The offense just could not get going after the first possession, as Book was running for his life all game long, and that is something that must be addressed as they head into a possible College Football Playoff game.

The veteran starter for Notre Dame was able to complete his passes when he had time, but the lack of protection led to him not being able to take many shots downfield. Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables had a great gameplan for Brian Kelly and the Irish and definitely punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff with the dominant victory in a rematch game from early November.

Notre Dame has the talent to bounce back from this one, and they have plenty of time to get it right.

The Irish should have a good enough resume to still make the College Football Playoff, as they were easily one of the top-four teams in college football all season long. For Book and his teammates, they would like nothing more than to get a shot to prove that Saturday was an aberration.