Blue and Gold Illustrated

TURNING POINT It would seem contradictory to call the first 6:17 of a 60-minute football game as the turning point, because ebbs and flows can still follow many times. However, those first 377 seconds made a monumental difference while Clemson built a 14-0 lead. A 64-yard Clemson touchdown march on the opening series, a three-and- out series by Notre Dame followed by a 15-yard punt, and then a 40-yard touchdown drive by the Tigers provided a cushion from which the Irish could not quite recover. Over the final 53:43, Notre Dame outgained Clemson 437-192 in total yardage … but that 14-0 deficit in the opening minutes on the road put the Fighting Irish in a hole the balance of the evening. STAT OF THE GAME Notre Dame had four turnovers in the second half and finished minus- three for the game — a virtually impossible way to win against a ranked opponent on the road. After Notre Dame settled down following Clemson's initial 14-0 flurry to begin the game, Irish freshman CJ Sanders lost a fumble on the second half kickoff that set up a 21-3 deficit. Then on the first Irish play on offense in the second half, senior running back C.J. Prosise lost a fumble, although that did not result in a Clemson score. Sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer tossed an interception with 6:36 left in the game, and then senior Chris Brown lost a fumble at the Clemson 2-yard line just as he was about to score with 2:39 left. SECOND-GUESSER'S DELIGHT Last year, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was castigated for going for two points against Northwestern instead of kicking the extra point for a nine-point lead. The Irish miss on the two allowed Northwestern to tie the game in regulation and win it in overtime. When Kelly went for two at Clemson after narrowing the deficit to 21-9, it looks like the wrong decision again. Two more extra point kicks might have made it 24-24 at the end of regulation. Because the play failed, it's natural to second-guess the logic. It still could have been a two-score situation at 21-10 with pretty much a full quarter to play. Yet if the two had been made, an extra point later would have won it. Still, it is probably more prudent to not chase points until the closing minutes. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI

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