Is Notre Dame football destined to face Clemson in ACC title game?

Notre Dame football has high expectations and aspirations for the 2020 season but does that include a matchup with Clemson in the ACC title game?

Notre Dame prides itself on being independent but decided to join the ACC due to the need for a full slate of games for its 2020 schedule.

With the Fighting Irish joining the ACC (not as a permanent member for football) the league has 15 teams and no divisions this season. Notre Dame will play a 10-game conference schedule as it already faced and defeated Duke in its home opener. The Fighting Irish played their lone non-conference game in Week 3 as they defeated South Florida.

One of the goals for head coach Brian Kelly and his Notre Dame team is to make it to the 2020 ACC Championship Game which will take place in December at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. There are no divisions this season for the ACC and the two top teams qualify for the championship game. Clemson is the favorite to claim one of the spots, but is Notre Dame destined to earn the other spot?

Nothing is guaranteed, especially with it being this early in the season and with so much uncertainty of which players will be able to play week in and week out due to COVID-19 protocols and procedures that every ACC team must follow.

Virginia and Virginia Tech already postponed their game, for example, and playing in the midst of a pandemic, there are a lot of uncertainties and variables moving forward for each team in the ACC. However, Notre Dame is in position to finish in one of the two spots on top of the conference standings to have the opportunity to claim an ACC title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The Fighting Irish, after two impressive victories, look like a favorite along with Clemson, one of the two teams to be playing in Charlotte in mid-December for an opportunity to claim the ACC title and compete for an opportunity to compete for a national championship.

Let’s look at the performances by Notre Dame in Week 1 and 2 and their path ahead as they compete in the weeks ahead in ACC play.