Blue and Gold Illustrated

CLEMSON RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Through the first three games, Clemson sopho- more quarterback Deshaun Watson averaged only 31 rushing yards on eight carries. On the first play from scrimmage against the Irish, his draw play gained 38 yards to set up the first touchdown, and his 16 carries for 93 yards — highlighted by a third- quarter 21-yard touchdown jaunt to make it 21-3 — matched his season rushing total after going through knee surgery last season. His much heavier involvement in the ground attack was vital and allowed running back Wayne Gallman (22 carries for 98 yards) an opening here and there. ADVANTAGE: Clemson CLEMSON PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Despite the two early touchdown passes by Wat- son, who was not sacked, the Irish get the nod here. They limited Watson to only a 50-percent comple- tion rate (11 of 22) for 97 yards. Junior cornerback Cole Luke's second-half inter- ception on a pass into the end zone was the lone Irish turnover forced and helped result in the game's momentum shift toward Notre Dame over the final 15 minutes. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. CLEMSON RUN DEFENSE Perhaps the game's top story from a strategy per- spective was Clemson often crowding the box with eight players and controlling the line of scrimmage, thereby placing the onus on sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer to beat them in his starting debut on the road. Senior running back C.J. Prosise (15 car- ries for 50 yards) seldom found any openings, and frequently was hit behind the line of scrimmage because of the Tigers' penetration and aggressive schemes. It wasn't really until the fourth quarter that the Irish were able to find a rhythm with the passing game, especially on crossing routes, to generate some offense. Kizer was the leading ball carrier for the Irish with 60 yards, but much of that was the result of his elusiveness on several scrambles as opposed to de- signed running plays. One design that failed was his sweep on the two-point attempt with seven seconds left that resulted in the 24-22 final score. ADVANTAGE: Clemson NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. CLEMSON PASS DEFENSE Kizer displayed marvelous composure in the ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Senior Chris Brown caught four passes for 83 yards, but fumbled inside the Clemson 5-yard line late in the game with the Irish trailing by eight. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

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