OFFENSE: DESHONE KIZER
It took the sophomore quarterback
some time to get used to the noise,
the rain and the aggressive Clemson
defense. Once he settled in, though,
he led a valiant Irish rally that came
up just short.
Kizer competed 19 of 34 passes for a
career-high 321 yards and added three
touchdowns, two through the air and
one on the ground. Six drops from his
wide receivers hindered his stats, plus
he threw a costly fourth-quarter inter-
ception that led to a Clemson field goal.
However, Kizer bounced back
and found junior wide receiver Torii
Hunter Jr. in the end zone for a score
with just seven seconds remaining to
give the Irish a chance to tie the game.
DEFENSE: JAYLON SMITH
The Notre Dame defense got off
to a rough start, giving up 104 yards
and 14 points in just less than seven
minutes to open the game. Behind the
stellar play of the junior linebacker,
though, the Irish defense tightened
up and held Clemson to just 192 yards
and 10 points in the final 53 minutes
of the game.
Senior defensive tackle Sheldon
Day, junior linebacker James On-
wualu, junior cornerback Cole Luke,
junior safety Max Redfield and senior
safety Elijah Shumate all played strong
games, but no one was as impactful as
Smith. He played sideline to sideline,
making plays in space and proving to
be the best athlete on the field.
Smith finished the game with nine
tackles, including seven solo stops.
SPECIAL TEAMS: JUSTIN YOON
The freshman kicker was put in a
difficult situation. He was kicking
in front of a hostile crowd and on a
slick field. He responded by drilling
a career-long 46-yard field goal and
knocked in his only point after at-
tempt.
Freshman return man CJ Sanders
was poised to take this award thanks
to a 46-yard kick return, but his third-
quarter fumble proved costly.
TOP PLAYERS OF THE GAME BY LOU SOMOGYI
Sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer completed
19 of 34 passes for a career-high 321 yards with
two touchdowns, plus had a team-best 60 rushing
yards and a score.
PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA
