Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1322461
30 JAN. 1, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED on that. Just want to throw that out there, if anybody would care." As it turns out, such remarks may have made their way to the Clemson locker room. "When you listen to some of the things they were saying leading up to this game," Clemson fifth-year se- nior linebacker James Skalski said, "I think they pushed some buttons they wished they wouldn't have pushed." Skalski also was out on Nov. 7. Sim- ilar to Lawrence, he is a significant presence and considered the quarter- back of the Tigers' defense. Heading into the ACC Championship, fans and media members wondered just how big a difference they would make? As it turns out, quite a bit. Skalski finished the game with five tackles (one for loss), a sack and a quarterback hurry. But more than that, he made sure the other 10 defenders were consistently in the right position and brought an intensity the Clemson defense was sorely missing in the first game. On more than one occasion, he was in the face of a Notre Dame offen- sive player after a run stuff or big hit. Outside of an interception on Clemson's opening drive, Lawrence was masterful, throwing for 322 yards and two touchdowns on 25-of- 36 passing. But where he really im- pacted the game was on the ground. Lawrence rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, compared to the two yards backup quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei ran for on Nov. 7. "His ability to run really stresses your coverage calls," head coach Brian Kelly said. "It stresses a lot of things that you do in terms of your fits and where essentially you're trying to get him to certainly not be that kind of player. "What you're trying to do is bring some pressures that eliminate those runs, but it just opens up some one- on-one matchups that are not that favorable, and so it's a dilemma." ✦ NOTRE DAME VS. CLEMSON QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 11:09 7:50 6:40 6:19 18:59 12:59 31:58 Third-Down Conversions 2-4 0-3 0-3 1-2 2-7 1-5 3-12 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 Average Field Position ND-25 ND-25 ND-18 ND-16 ND-25 ND-17 ND-21 Clemson 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 3:51 7:10 8:20 8:41 11:01 17:01 28:02 Third-Down Conversions 1-1 3-5 2-4 2-4 4-6 4-8 8-14 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 1-1 Average Field Position CU-20 CU-22 CU-29 CU-22 CU-21 CU-26 CU-24 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND CU Nega ve 14 6 0-5 23 28 6-9 7 14 10-19 9 8 20-29 3 6 30-39 2 2 40-49 0 1 50 or more 0 1 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 1 0 0 1 Clemson 2 0 2 0 Fifth-year senior linebacker James Skalski fin- ished with five tackles and a sack, but his pres- ence in the middle of the Tigers' defense proved to be more valuable than numbers can reflect. PHOTO BY KEN RUINARD-USA TODAY SPORTS/COURTESY ACC MEDIA BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 1-10 ND38 Book pass complete to Skowronek for 26 yards to the CU36 • 1-10 ND35 Book pass complete to Tremble for 30 yards to the CU35 • 1-10 ND25 Book pass complete to Skowronek for 16 yards to the ND41, penalty CU personal foul (Goodrich) 15 yards to the CU44 Clemson • 2-10 CU36 Lawrence rush for 10 yards to the CU46, pen- alty ND face mask (Hamilton) 15 yards to the ND39 • 1-10 CU33 Lawrence pass complete to Rodgers for 67 yards and a touchdown • 2-4 ND33 Lawrence pass complete to E. Williams for 33 yards and a touchdown • 4-1 ND44 E enne rush for 44 yards and a touchdown • 3-1 ND34 Lawrence rush for 34 yards and a touchdown • 3-9 CU26 Lawrence pass complete to Powell for 26 yards to the ND48 PARTICIPATION CHART OFFENSE QB: IAN BOOK RB: KYREN WILLIAMS, Chris Tyree, C'Bo Flemister WR: JAVON MCKINLEY TE: TOMMY TREMBLE TE: BROCK WRIGHT, Michael Mayer LT: LIAM EICHENBERG LG: AARON BANKS C: JOSH LUGG RG: TOMMY KRAEMER RT: ROBERT HAINSEY WR: Avery Davis WR: BENNETT SKOWRONEK DEFENSE SDE: ADE OGUNDEJI, Justin Ademilola DT: MYRON TAGOVAILOA-AMOSA, Rylie Mills, Jayson Ademilola NT: KURT HINISH, Howard Cross III, Jacob Lacey Vyper: DAELIN HAYES, Isaiah Foskey, Ovie Oghoufo Mike: DREW WHITE, Bo Bauer Buck: MARIST LIUFAU, Shayne Simon, Jack Kiser Rover: JEREMIAH OWUSU-KORAMOAH Stud: SHAUN CRAWFORD, Houston Griffith Whip: KYLE HAMILTON, DJ Brown Boundary CB: NICK MCCLOUD, Cam Hart Field CB: CLARENCE LEWIS Nickel: DJ BROWN SPECIAL TEAMS Kickoff Coverage: Shaun Crawford, Drew White, Jack Kiser, Bo Bauer, Isaiah Foskey, Jordan Botelho, Jack Lamb, Isaiah Pryor, Osita Ekwonu, Clarence Lewis Kick Return: Isaiah Pryor, Houston Griffith, Jack Kiser, Jack Lamb, Marist Liufau, Isaiah Foskey, Shayne Simon, Brock Wright, Jafar Armstrong Punt Coverage: John Dirksen, Dillan Gibbons, Brock Wright, JD Bertrand, Isaiah Pryor, Jack Kiser, Bo Bauer, Drew White, Kyle Hamilton, Jack Lamb Punt Return: Isaiah Foskey, Isaiah Pryor, Bo Bauer, Jack Lamb, JD Bertrand, Chris Tyree, Jack Kiser, Cam Hart, Marist Liufau, Houston Griffith Kickoff: Jonathan Doerer Placekicker: Jonathan Doerer Punter: Jay Bramblett Long/Short Snapper: Michael Vinson Holder: Jay Bramblett Kick Returner: Chris Tyree Punt Returner: Matt Salerno