Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1510995
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 18, 2023 23 0 Penalties for the Tigers in their win over Notre Dame. According to Clem- son media relations, it marked the first penalty-free game on record for the Tigers since the 1952 Gator Bowl against Miami (Fla.) at the end of the 1951 season. Meanwhile, the Irish had 5 penalties for 40 yards. 0-5 Record for Notre Dame graduate student Sam Hartman as a starting quarterback against Clemson. He lost all four of his starts for Wake Forest from 2018-22 — plus watched from the sideline during a fifth defeat — before transferring to Notre Dame. Hartman is the first Power Five quarterback to go 0-5 as a starter against the same opponent since Florida State's Chris Rix was 0-5 against Miami from 2000-04, per ESPN. 1st Time ever that the Fighting Irish wore white-on-white uniforms for a true road game, per Notre Dame media relations. The Fighting Irish have worn white jerseys with white pants for Shamrock Series games in 2022, 2018 and 2013. 2 Years ago was the last time an unranked Clemson squad beat a ranked opponent, prior to upending No. 12 Notre Dame and quarterback Sam Hartman 31-23. In 2021, the Tigers posted a 48-27 win over No. 13 Wake For- est, which also featured Hartman as its starting quarterback. 4 Touchdowns and 7 interceptions for Hartman over Notre Dame's last four games (2-2 record), after he posted 14 scores and 0 picks during the Irish's 5-1 start. Hartman completed only 13 of 30 passes for 146 yards (a meager 4.9 yards per attempt) with 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions against the Tigers. 10 -Yard line was Notre Dame's average starting field position on its final six possessions of the game, after it had pulled with eight points at 31-23. The Tigers pinned the Irish inside their 15-yard line on five punts over the final 18 minutes of the game. Notre Dame managed to gain just 24 yards on 13 plays and punted on the first four of those possessions. On the fifth, they went 16 yards on 5 plays before Hartman threw his second interception of the game. On their last possession, which started on their 22-yard line after a Clemson fumble, the Irish went 20 yards on 6 plays before turning it over on downs. 186 Yards rushing — a career high — and 2 touchdowns on 36 carries — which tied a school record — for junior running back Phil Mafah. He had a 41-yard scoring run to get the Tigers on the board in the first quarter and a 1-yarder in the third that gave them a 31-16 advantage. Mafah got the start in place of classmate Will Shipley, Clemson's leading rusher who missed the contest due to a concussion. 329-285 Advantage in total yards for Notre Dame against Clem- son. However, that was offset by the Tigers winning the turnover battle 3-2. The Tigers entered the game -3 in turnover margin, while the Irish were +9. This was Clemson's first multi-takeaway game since forcing 3 turnovers against Syracuse in late September. The Tigers are now 52-1 (.981 winning per- centage) under head coach Dabo Swinney when recording at least 3 takeaways. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 68 Yards rushing on 7 attempts for Notre Dame graduate student quarterback SAM HARTMAN. His 38-yard run late in the first quarter was the longest run of his Notre Dame career and the longest since he ran for 42 yards for Wake against Duke in 2021. He also scored a touchdown on a 26-yard scramble in the third quarter. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP