ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit and Rece Davis were in Atlanta yesterday at the College Football Hall of Fame and talked about the Notre Dame – Clemson showdown in the Cotton Bowl Classic – Notre Dame’s first appearance in the College Football Playoffs. Both Herbie and Davis talked about how Notre Dame has to get to Trevor Lawrence in order to slow down the Clemson offense. The Irish defense has been able to generate pressure with just their front four most of the year but will be facing their toughest challenge yet in Dallas.
Davis specifically mentioned that he does not think this is a situation like 2012 when Notre Dame was blown out in the BCS Championship by Alabama and that Notre Dame is better now than they were then. He said that he felt Clemson was clearly the better team, but that Notre Dame would be competitive. Davis also mentions that Clemson has some vulnerability in the backend of their defense and that Ian Book and the Irish passing game could have success on them if they can protect Book.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
ND has no business in the game playing a weak schedule at home with no championship game has already led to 0-5 bcs by an average of 25 points
Notre Dame actually has a 11-11 record in the “New Years 6” Bowl games but thanks for regurgitating a lazy statistic you saw on Twitter.
Protect the QB, yes. That is important for Notre Dame to do. But running the QB will keep them honest in a completely different way. Ian Book is going to have to run. He is going to have to run and take hits now to win this game.
Clemson has shown they give up big plays so look for the Irish to score on a few deep balls and while the running game may struggle I think Dexter makes a 40+ run to daylight. I really like NDs chances, if like Herbie mentioned, they can get to and pressure the QB.
Notre Dame will beat Clemson through the AIR. I don’t see the Irish running the ball effectively against Clemson. If Book can pass the ball effectively and not turn the ball over the Irish will prevail. 42-29 Notre Dame
Looking forward to seeing Trevor “ hodad” Lawrence get sacked by Irish defense.
Hodad, dude that’s an old one. You must of been a surfer!
Tried to get up on a board one time. Wave knocked me down. The Notre Dame defensive Wave will knock down Hodad Trevor as well.
Pretty decent analysis by both KH and RD on the Cotton Bowl. The “O” line and blocking backs that best protect their QB could determine the winner. Both defenses can play fast if they want to, so stopping quick penetration, correct double teams, and picking up the dogs and the blitzers most consistently would be huge in a game like this one.
On the “D” side of the ball, I’d say redzone defense will be huge, as both teams might be expected to move the ball downfield with chunk plays. What happens when that field compresses may have a big say in the final score.
BGC ’77 ’82