When the #2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish meet the #3 Clemson Tigers next week, it will be a rematch of both a regular season game and a 2018 College Football Playoff semifinal.
The 2020 ACC title game will kickoff at 4pm EST in Charlotte, and the team that won the previous meeting is actually the underdog here. That is certainly understandable given the circumstances involved.
Home field advantage also played a role, and the Tigers were also missing their best defensive player, as well as a couple of other key defenders in that one.
That side of the ball will no doubt be more robust and stout this time around, and with a game where the total is 61, and the moneyline -110 in favor of Clemson, every possession, especially those in the red zone, counts. While Clemson are bonafide national championship contenders, Alabama and Ohio State still have better playoff and national title projections, according to the ESPN FPI.
On Monday, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly discussed the differences in preparing for Clemson with Trevor Lawrence versus D.J. Uiagalelei: “Not much. The system is the system that they run. There may be a little bit more activation of some quarterback runs.”
And you can’t preview this game without bringing up what happened the last time these two sides in postseason.
Clemson won in the 2018 Cotton Bowl, a final four game, 30-3, and that result still sticks with everyone involved in ND.
Prediction: Clemson 31, Notre Dame 27
Kelly will soon pass Knute Rockne for most wins all-time as ND head coach, but he still doesn’t have a title, and the two times he’s played for it, ended in complete disaster. He and his program still needs to show that they can hang with a blue blood, elite southern school on the biggest stage.
I’m thinking they at least keep it close this time, but ultimately fall short.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.