Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, and Lou Holtz– these coaches won national titles at the University of Notre Dame. A school with tremendous history and a proud tradition, Notre Dame looks to once again add another title to their historic program. This time, it’s with head coach Brian Kelly. Kelly actually has been at South Bend for a while now (2010) and has seen his share of good seasons, but usually coming up just short to make it to the big dance. He did manage to get his team their once, in 2012. However, they got pounded by a very good Alabama football team coached by Nick Saban.
The Irish pull no punches with their football schedule, they will play anyone, anywhere, at anytime. Being an Independent gives them that advantage. However, they recently inked a deal with the ACC to play some teams from the conference during the season. The reason behind this was the college football playoff. The Irish knew if they ever wanted to get in, they would need their team to look good not just on the field, but also on paper. I’m not saying playing teams from the B1G and USC every year is not attractive, but to really secure a spot, they need to play everyone. And now they have gone perfect through the regular season, bringing them into the 4-team college football playoff. But it will not be easy, they have to play a very talented Clemson team.
Notre Dame has played four teams in the top 25 this season: Michigan, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and Stanford. They won convincingly in all four games. Clemson is a totally different animal that the Irish will face. The Tigers have the best defensive line in the country and have a true freshman at Quarterback that plays like a senior. But the Irish aren’t pushovers. They got a guy by the name of Ian Book who has thrown for 2468 passing yards, a long with 19 touchdowns. He has a 70.4 CMP%. That’s pretty good if you ask me. Then there is Dexter Williams who is just a shy under 1000 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns. They have some good receivers too. But make no mistake, this will be their biggest test of the year.
Can Notre Dame hang with Clemson? We will find out on December 29, 4:00 PM in Dallas, Texas.
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