No. 4 Clemson‘s newly earned College Football Playoff Ranking will immediately be put to the test as the Tigers travel to take on Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. The Fighting Irish have not seen their season play out quite as expected compared to the top-five preseason ranking, but after overcoming some early setbacks Marcus Freeman’s group is playing with confidence and hopes to deliver a win against the Tigers like what Notre Dame fans saw in 2020, the last time Clemson came to town.
Clemson enters the game after a week off, finally reaching the bye after a midseason stretch of game that featured some of the toughest tests on the ACC schedule. The Tigers won a high-scoring double-overtime shootout at Wake Forest, won lower-scoring grinders against NC State and Syracuse at home and in between took down both Boston College and Florida State on the road. Positioned at No. 4 in the first CFP Rankings, Clemson figures to be in a spot where simply stacking wins will be enough to make the playoff for the seventh time in an eight-year run.
Can Clemson get in and out of South Bend with a win, or will Notre Dame play spoiler to the Tigers playoff hopes. Let’s get into some of the big storylines and keys to the matchup.
How to watch Notre Dame vs. Clemson live
Date: Saturday, Nov. 5 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Notre Dame Stadium — South Bend, Indiana
TV: NBC | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Notre Dame vs. Clemson: Need to know
DJU returns to South Bend: That 2020 game, though it was a loss for Clemson, was also a coming out party for current starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. A true freshman at the time starting in place of Trevor Lawrence as a result of a positive COVID test, Uiagalelei threw for 439 yards and totaled three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in the 47-40 overtime loss. Lawrence would return to the starter’s role, and Clemson would avenge that defeat with a win in the ACC Championship Game, but the performance set an expectation for DJU in the post-Trevor era.
So when Clemson’s offense fell off in production in 2021 and Uiagalelei threw nine touchdowns to 10 interceptions and finished with the worst passer rating in the ACC, it was a massive disappointment. Luckily for the quarterback and Clemson things have turned around in 2022, and Uiagalelei has 17 touchdowns to just four interceptions through eight games. However, his performance will…
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