CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson might have Saturday off, but it does not mean the fifth-ranked Tigers are not thinking about their next opponent.
When Clemson gets back on the playing field next week, it will be in South Bend, Indiana, as it travels to play Notre Dame. It will mark the fifth time since 2015, the Tigers and Irish will meet on the football field.
Before Clemson’s dramatic 24-22 win at Memorial Stadium in 2015, the two programs had not met since 1979.
“We got a lot of respect for them, and for us, it is another great opportunity,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “It is our last true road game. We are done with what we call the primetime part of our journey and November is what it is all about.
“We feel like this is what we are built for, and this team has a shot to do some great things.”
Since the 2015 game, Notre Dame and Clemson have met in the 2019 College Football Playoff, in 2020 in South Bend and then in the 2020 ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. The Tigers won three of the previous four meetings.
Notre Dame won the first meeting in the series back in 1977 in Clemson, while the Tigers returned the favor at Notre Dame in 1979.
The Irish (4-3) have not had the kind of season many thought they were going to have. After being ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 Poll, they quickly fell out after losing to No. 2 Ohio State and unranked Marshall to start the season.
They bounced back to win three straight games, including a 28-20 win over then No. 16 BYU. But they lost to Stanford the following week. They beat UNLV last week to get back on track and visit No. 16 Syracuse on Saturday.
Clemson (8-0), of course, rallied to beat Syracuse last week.
“It is a good thing that we have the bye week,” safety Andrew Mukuba said. “We have lots of time. We can watch more film and work on what we have to work on. It is definitely going to take a lot of focus because they are a good team.
“Once again, it is about having everybody on the same page because that is something I feel like we have kind of lacked sometimes. But that is coming together. We are getting on the same page.”
The Clemson defense is coming off an effort in which it shut out Syracuse in the second half, limiting the Orange to 119 total yards. Syracuse punted on six of their seven second-half possessions and threw an interception on the seventh one.
The game ended with Mukuba celebrating with fellow safeties Jake Venables and R.J. Mickens, who intercepted Garrett Shrader at the Clemson 15-yard line to seal the win.
“I feel like when we have everybody on the same page on defense, then we can really dominate on the D-Line, linebackers and on the back end,” Mukuba said. “But it is going to take a lot of focus from everybody to lock in and get up there and watch a lot of film, so we can know what to expect and be in position to make plays.”
Clemson and Notre Dame are scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on NBC.
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