Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 7, 2020 45 BY TODD D. BURLAGE CLEMSON RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Tigers' third-year starting tailback Travis Eti- enne isn't off to the terrific starts he enjoyed in 2018 and 2019 on the way to consecutive ACC Player of the Year honors. But with eight rushing touchdowns, a per-carry average of 6.3 yards and 87.0 rushing yards per game during Clemson's 6-0 start, Etienne remains plenty dangerous. He is just slightly off pace to reach his 2019 production of 1,614 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns that brought second-team All-American recognition. Still, Clemson's top area of "reload" in 2020 was the offensive line, which has featured four new starters and will now face a veteran-dominated Notre Dame front. The Irish reached the halfway point of the regular season ranked No. 2 in the ACC and No. 13 nation- ally in rushing defense, allowing only 94.8 yards per game — a vast improvement from 2019 when Notre Dame yielded 150.3 rushing yards per game and finished No. 60 in the country in that category. The best performance by a Notre Dame rushing defense during the first 10 seasons under head coach Brian Kelly came in 2012 when his Irish sur- rendered 105.69 yards per game. Contributing to Notre Dame's early success in this category comes from getting its defense off the field. Entering the Georgia Tech contest, the Irish were ranked No. 5 in the country in third-down conversion defense, allowing just a 21.2-percent success rate. Advantage: Even CLEMSON PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE A national champion quarterback in 2018 as a true freshman, and now the clear front-runner to become the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, what more can you say about Clemson's star junior Trevor Lawrence? Through his first six games, Lawrence had al- ready passed for 1,833 yards with 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions. The Irish coaches be- came overly familiar with Lawrence in the 2018 College Football Playoff semifinals when this year's leading ACC passer hit Notre Dame with 27-of-39 passing for 327 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 30-3 Clemson rout. However, it was announced on Oct. 29 that he tested positive for COVID-19 and two days later he was ruled out for the Notre Dame game. His replacement is freshman D.J. Uiagalelei, who like Lawrence was a five-star recruit and the nation's top quarterback prospect in his class. In his first career start against Boston College Oct. 31, Uiagalelei completed 30 of 41 throws for 342 yards with two touchdowns and added a 30-yard rushing score in the Tigers' 34-28 comeback win. Nine different Clemson pass catchers had a touchdown grab through six games, but Etienne out of the backfield and senior wide receiver Amari Rodgers have been the favorite targets. With 86.7 receiving yards per outing, 32 total re- ceptions and five touchdowns through six games, Rodgers ranks near the top of the ACC in nearly ev- ery important receiving category. Etienne has con- tributed 22 catches for 294 yards and one score. Third-year starting running back Travis Etienne scored eight touchdowns while averaging 87.0 rushing yards and 6.3 yards per carry during Clemson's 6-0 start. He became the ACC's all-time leading rusher in the win against Boston College and now has 4,612 rushing yards. PHOTO BY BART BOATWRIGHT, THE CLEMSON INSIDER/COURTESY ACC MEDIA GAME PREVIEW: CLEMSON On PaPer