Blue and Gold Illustrated

GAME PREVIEW: CLEMSON Ebenezer Ogundeko was dismissed from the team in May after he was ar- rested and charged for use of stolen credit cards. • On June 25, Clemson lost its top offensive lineman, rising senior Isaiah Battle, when he declared to enter the NFL supplemental draft. • Senior defensive tackle D.J. Reader left the program to deal with "personal issues." He was the Tigers' most expe- rienced player returning on defense and had recorded 110 career tackles. • Junior nickel back Korrin Wiggins, who started six games last season and recorded 34 tackles with two intercep- tions, tore his ACL in practice Aug. 12 and is sidelined for the year. • One linebacker, Kellen Jones, trans- ferred to Wisconsin to use his fifth year of eligibility as a graduate student, while another, redshirt freshman Korie Rogers, quit football. Both were four- star recruits. • After catching a touchdown pass in the season opener versus Wofford Sept. 5, star junior wide receiver Mi- chael Williams collided with the goal post and suffered a small fracture in his neck. It's not career threatening, but it will be evaluated six weeks after and will probably shelve him the re- mainder of 2015. Williams and sopho- more Artavis Scott comprised one of the more dynamic receiving tandems in the country last year, and this year Clemson added five-star freshman Deon Cain. • During practice Sept. 14, fifth-year senior center Ryan Norton sprained an MCL in his knee and has been declared out for the Notre Dame game. Norton had started 26 games for the Tigers. Even fifth-year senior kicker/punter Ammon Lakip was suspended earlier this year when he was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine and driving under the influence, but he has been reinstated since then. The good news for Clemson is over the last four years it has become a "program," not just another team. The Tigers join Alabama, Northern Illinois and Oregon as the only schools to post four straight 10-win seasons during that span. That quartet plus Florida State are the only schools to also finish in the Associated Press top 25 all four seasons from 2011-14. Especially notable is Clemson has won consecutive bowls against No. 9 LSU, No. 6 Ohio State and last year crushed Oklahoma 40-6. If Notre Dame is to reach program status by stringing together several consecutive 10-plus win seasons, it will need to develop the depth to over- come personnel setbacks like it has so far this season. OCTOBER ON THE ROAD The most prominent success over the last four years for Notre Dame has been during the month of Octo- ber — specifically marquee games on the road. It is 5-1 in such outings, with the lone defeat ranking as maybe even more impressive than all the victories. • In 2012, Notre Dame's 30-13 vic- tory at No. 8 Oklahoma, which had been 79-4 at home under head coach Bob Stoops, gave notice that the Fight- ing Irish were to be taken seriously as a national title contender. To this day,

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