CLEMSON — Clemson football returned to Memorial Stadium for the first time in more than a month in Week 10 and left with a huge win. The Tigers upset No. 12 Notre Dame 31-23.
The win made Dabo Swinney the winningest coach in Clemson history and got the Tigers (5-4) back in the win column after back-to-back losses. Swinney now has 166 victories, passing Frank Howard’s 165 wins in 30 seasons.
Notre Dame (7-3) tried to mount a second-half comeback with a 14-point third quarter, but Clemson’s defense stood up in the fourth. The Fighting Irish had the ball down 8 with a little over two minutes left, and an interception from redshirt freshman Kylon Griffin should have iced the game. Running back Phil Mafah fumbled to give the Irish the ball back, but the Clemson defense kept Notre Dame at bay to seal the win.
Ideal first half, messy second half
Clemson played one of its best halves of football in the first. The offense avoided the kind of big blunders that had doomed it in prior games, the run game thrived, and the defense held up well. It was the kind of complementary football Clemson has struggled to play in its losses.
The Fighting Irish were able to run the ball well on Clemson early despite the Tigers entering the game ranked No. 16 in the country in rushing yards per game allowed (99.13) and yards allowed per carry (3.13). Notre Dame amassed 127 yards rushing in the first half.
But the defense stood up when it mattered most: Notre Dame went to the red zone twice in the first half and settled for field goals both times.
In the second half, however, some of Clemson’s offensive woes reappeared. There was an interception, plus a few other bad, drive-killing plays. Center Will Putnam sent a snap over Cade Klubnik’s head on third down, ending a drive in plus territory. Later, an apparent miscue led to Klubnik pitching the ball to an unsuspecting Mafah, where it fell to bring up fourth down.
The Tigers punted on five consecutive possessions in the second half, but the defense forced four straight Notre Dame punts to keep Clemson in front. When the Irish got the ball back on the fumble, the defense kept them from passing midfield and forced a turnover on downs.
Career day for Phil Mafah with Will Shipley out
With star running back Will Shipley in concussion protocol, Mafah got the bulk of the Tigers’ carries against Notre Dame. Clemson had its best rushing performance in weeks, and Mafah had a career day.
Mafah ran for a career-high 186 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 36 carries.
As a team, Clemson’s 176 rushing yards were its most since it put up 207 against Wake Forest in Week 6, as were its 4.1 yards per attempt.
Clemson wins turnover margin
Turnovers have killed Clemson this season, and the Tigers had their share Saturday. But against Notre Dame, they won the margin for the first time since Week 5 at Syracuse.
Notre Dame had three turnovers, two of which Clemson turned into points. First, long snapper Philip Florenzo recovered a muffed punt to give Clemson possession at the Fighting Irish 22-yard-line. Clemson got a field goal out of the deal.
Later, linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. intercepted a pass from Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown. Trotter was the defensive star of the day: In addition to the pick-six, he finished with 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks for 13 yards.
Griffin caught Hartman’s second interception of the game with about two minutes left to play, and it should have iced the game. A fumble by Mafah on the ensuing possession gave Notre Dame the ball right back, but the Tigers’ defense held up.
It was Clemson’s second turnover of the game. In the third quarter, a pass from Klubnik bounced off Beaux Collins and into the arms of Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts. Watts’ return to the 2-yard-line set up Notre Dame’s first touchdown of the game.
Christina Long covers the Clemson Tigers for the Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at [email protected].