It was an upset that you could see coming a mile away and here are the key takeaways as Notre Dame football just obliterated Clemson on Saturday night in South Bend.
Notre Dame football isn’t going to be a College Football Playoff team in 2022 or a contender. But the Irish could have a say on who makes the four-team playoff and after dismantling Clemson 35-14, it sure doesn’t look like it will be the Tigers.
Clemson has struggled all season really with teams like Syracuse, NC State, and Wake Forest. Last week, Notre Dame football blew out Syracuse on the road.
So it really shouldn’t have been that surprising to see Notre Dame football beat Clemson. The way the Irish dominated the Tigers was a bit of a surprise. Clemson’s defense got exposed and here are three takeaways from a really impressive win by Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame football is the best team in the ACC
If the Irish were actually part of the ACC conference, I have no doubt in my mind that they would walk away as the ACC champion this season. Just look at the results.
Notre Dame went on the road and beat North Carolina and Syracuse in impressive fashion. Yes, the North Carolina game was closer but both wins were by double digits.
Notre Dame then welcomed big, bad Clemson to South Bend, just a few days after the College Football Playoff selection committee ranked the Tigers No. 4 over teams like Michigan and TCU.
It didn’t make sense and on Saturday, Notre Dame made the committee look stupid. Even worse, the Irish have made the entire ACC look like a joke.
Notre Dame is 6-3 and it owns the conference. No ACC team, which includes Clemson, should be anywhere near the College Football Playoff.
Clemson was always a fraud
It was laughable when the College Football Playoff selection committee ranked Clemson as the No. 4 team. The Tigers had to rally to beat Wake Forest on the road, the same Wake Forest team that was dominated last week by Louisville and lost to NC State last night.
The Wolfpack aren’t a bad team when Devin Leary is playing quarterback. But even they shouldn’t be ranked in the top 25. It was like the committee was trying to justify its own ranking.
Clemson has some big issues at quarterback and totally laid an egg against a Notre Dame team that was beaten at home by Stanford and Marshall this season.
So let’s just be clear: Clemson isn’t a playoff team and there isn’t a win left on the resume that will be impressive. I don’t care if North Carolina is 11-1. That same team lost at home by double-digits to Notre Dame.
The ACC is a total joke and even if the Tar Heels and Tigers meet as 11-1 teams, neither should be allowed anywhere near the top four. It’s the worst power-5 conference and the committee is acting like it’s rough and tumble, leaving me asking, does the committee even watch college football games?
Another argument for a 12-team playoff
Notre Dame football beat the No. 4 team in the country with a quarterback that threw for 85 yards. Logan Diggs and Audric Estime both went over 100 yards and the Irish flat-out dominated in the trenches.
Benjamin Morrison’s interception return for a touchdown turned a one-sided affair into a laugher. It also got me wondering about a 12-team playoff because if one existed, Notre Dame would still have very real hopes of getting to it.
I really hope the format is six automatic berths for the top six league champions and the six best-ranked teams after. That would give Notre Dame encouragement to join a conference because it should, but this season, a 9-3 Notre Dame could work its way near the top 12.
Yes, the Irish have some really bad losses. But they also have some good wins. Notre Dame beat Syracuse and North Carolina on the road, plus Clemson at home. They should be ranked in the top 20 and should have been ranked last week.
This is also another reason the playoff should be expanded. Give hot teams a chance to play their way in at the end despite 2-3 losses. Notre Dame could make its way into a conversation for a major bowl but who knows? Still, a 9-3 season doesn’t sound so bad, and Irish fans have to feel much better about Marcus Freeman than they did a few weeks ago.