Notre Dame Football vs Clemson Tigers: Picks and Predictions

Could Notre Dame football complete the season sweep on Saturday?

Connor McJunkin

I’m not sure if there has been a more anticipated game in college football this season. Notre Dame is coming off another perfect regular season, and they find themselves in the ACC Championship for the first and most likely last time in school history, while Clemson is looking for redemption after a double-overtime loss to the Irish in early November.

This matchup has everything you could want in a college football game, a great defense playing against an elite quarterback, two of the best running backs in the nation, two great coaching staffs, and high stakes for both teams. It’s also hard to say how much better Clemson’s offense will be with Trevor Lawrence this time around, especially if Notre Dame can contain Travis Etienne again.

Notre Dame left plenty of points on the board in their first matchup, and if Book and the offense come to play, the Irish will be raising the ACC Championship trophy. It’s hard to beat a great team like Clemson twice, but I love how the Irish matchup with the Tigers in the trenches. Notre Dame wins and spoils Clemson’s chances of making the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame 37, Clemson 31

Carlee North

Entering the season, two of Notre Dame’s goals were to beat Clemson, and go undefeated in the regular season. The next goal is winning the ACC Championship. Can the Irish beat Clemson for the second time this season? With Trevor Lawrence back, the Notre Dame defense will have their hands full.

The key will be limiting Lawrence in the run game, which won’t be easy. The Irish offense will also face a tougher test this time around, and Ian Book will need to stretch the field and make plays in this game. It’s never easy beating a team twice in a season, and Clemson will be looking for revenge, which I think will prove to be too much for the Irish this time around. Sign me up for Round 3 between these teams in the national championship game.

Notre Dame 27, Clemson 34

Andrew Hall

The national media will point to Trevor Lawrence as the reason why Clemson will win this game. However, if the Tigers do win, it will be because of the starters returning on defense. Notre Dame won their first against Clemson matchup despite committing some big errors, and the Irish will need to clean those up to win again. Notre Dame plays better than they did on November 7th, but a healthy Clemson prevails.

Notre Dame 31, Clemson 37

Jack Leniart

Despite defeating Clemson in a double-overtime thriller earlier this season, Notre Dame finds themselves as a significant underdog heading into their rematch against the Tigers in the ACC Championship game. The only thing harder than beating Clemson once is beating Clemson twice, and that task is made even harder when you take into consideration the players who have returned to the Tigers’ lineup after missing the regular-season game against Notre Dame.

The Irish are absolutely talented enough to hang with this Clemson team. However, the Tigers need to win this game more than Notre Dame does. I think that desperation propels Clemson to victory.

Notre Dame 23, Clemson 30