IRISH KO NO. 1 CLEMSON
Notre Dame rallies to tie score late, tops Tigers in 2 OTs
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Kyren Williams had a three- yard touchdown run in the second overtime, and No. 4 Notre Dame shut down No. 1 Clemson with a couple of sacks on its possession to seal a 4740 victory Saturday, the Fighting Irish’s first victory against a topranked team in 27 years.
Clemson had won 36 consecutive games and had not lost to an Atlantic Coast Conference team since 2017. Notre Dame ( 7- 0, 6- 0), playing in the ACC only because of the coronavirus pandemic, snapped both streaks.
After Williams gave the Irish the lead on the first possession of the second overtime, Notre Dame pushed the Tigers ( 7- 1, 6- 1) back with back- to- back sacks of freshman quarterback DJ Uiagalelei by Adetokumbo Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes on their first two plays.
Uiagalelei completed two passes after the second- and- 39, but the final one was way short of the firstdown line.
The Irish won their 13th consecutive game, snapped an 11- game losing streak against top- five teams and beat a top- ranked team for the first time since taking down Florida State in 1993.
One of the biggest games of the regular season delivered one of the most memorable victories of the Brian Kelly era at Notre Dame and painted the Irish as a legitimate contender to win their first national championship since 1988.
With Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence sidelined after testing positive for COVID- 19 and Uiagalelei in as his replacement, the Notre Dame keyed on stopping the Tigers’ running game.
Borrowing the same blueprint used the week before by Boston College, which pushed Clemson before losing, the Irish largely bottled up senior Travis Etienne and
put pressure on Uiagalelei, who once again delivered a fantastic performance in his first career road start.
Uiagalelei threw for 439 yards, the most allowed by Notre Dame in a game, and accounted for three touchdowns, including one on the ground. In attendance but unable to play while still in COVID- 19 protocols mandated by the ACC, Lawrence is expected to be available Nov. 21 against Florida State.
The Irish scored on a 65- yard run by Williams, who finished with 140 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, on the first series of the game.