2022 Week 10 Prediction Poll: (5) Clemson @ Notre Dame

[Some Irish Bloke]

#5 Clemson (8-0) @ Notre Dame (5-3)
Line: Clemson -3.5
Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN
Saturday, November 05, 2022
7:30 PM EST
NBC/Peacock

Votes are public. Poll closes on Saturday, 11/05 at 7:00 PM ET.

Taking off to San Diego for work all week tomorrow and I'll be MIA for the most part on the board, so I wanted to make sure I got this posted for the faithful participants. Usually I like to give folks plenty of time to decompress and discuss the previous weekend's game but I'm not confident I'll remember or have the time to post this later in the week.

Winners of five of their last six games, ND opened as a +4.0 pt home underdog but the line has shifted quickly to +3.5. Will be interested to see where it ends up as the week goes on. Clemson comes to town undefeated and ranked in the top 5, but they appear to be vulnerable as they've avoided several close encounters this season and aren't as dominant as Clemson teams of the past 5-7 years.

DJ U has continued to underwhelm at times this season and even led to him being benched in their last game against Syracuse after several turnovers. 5 star true-freshman Cade Klubnik entered the game in relief but mostly just handed the ball off to Will Shipley, a well-known former recruit of ND's, who carved up Syracuse's defense to the tune of 172 yards and two TDs at 6.2 YPC. Similar to how ND beat Clemson back in 2020, if we have any shot in this game we need to shut down Shipley as we did Travis Etienne back then and make Clemson's offense as one dimensional as possible. Easier said than done as Shipley is a dynamic athlete. They look to get him the ball quite a bit in the passing game as well. Dabo already pledged that "DJ is our QB" but expect to see both guys play on Saturday night. They're both "dual threat" QBs but Klubnik is the better athlete; ND needs to do a good job of containing them as the play breaks down. DJ isn't exactly "quick" but he is a load to tackle and Klubnik is a sneaky good athelete in the open field.

Clemson comes in ranked #27 in total defense, ranked one spot ahead of the Irish at #28. They're ranked #7 in rush defense, holding opponents to less than 3 YPC and only 87.9 yards per game. They'll likely attempt to load the box, blanket Mayer in coverage and force Pyne to find his other options. Clemson is ranked 71st in passing defense so if Pyne has a clean pocket and the WRs step up, this is a vulnerability the Irish can exploit. It's a pure test of strengths and weaknesses. Does Colzie continue to ascend? Can Tobias, Styles, Thomas or someone else step up and haul in some contested 50/50 balls when Rees and Pyne decide to take a shot to lighten the box? Can ND avoid yet another sleepy home start and land the first blow against Clemson?

All in all, this is a tremendous opportunity for the Irish, but will certainly be a tall task. The O/U is less than 50, so Vegas is expecting a pretty physical, low scoring game, which is a strong likelihood.

Give me Clemson 23 - ND 17 in a heartbreaking effort.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Bit of movement at the top as @Pops Freshenmeyer was one of our eight correct picks last week and moves into a tie with @Johannes in first at 4.

 

[ColinKSU]

Clemson by 8-10.

I don’t think Clemson is great, but their clear strength should be good enough to stop the one thing Notre Dame can do on offense. And I don’t believe Drew can even complete a screen pass at this point, let alone test their secondary.

 

[notredomer23]

Heart tells me 27-21 ND. Brain tells me 24-17 Clemson. I will never pick ND to lose so hopefully the heart is correct.

 

[thekid33]

Clemson is good enough to do what Syracuse couldn't - make us throw it enough to matter towards the outcome. DJU has been shaky enough and our D is good enough that I don't think this is a Kelly-era big game blowout. I am voting Clemson by 11-13, but I can see it being a 17 point loss, with a late Clemson score to make it look worse than it was.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Clemson by 8-10.

I don’t think Clemson is great, but their clear strength should be good enough to stop the one thing Notre Dame can do on offense. And I don’t believe Drew can even complete a screen pass at this point, let alone test their secondary.

I couldn’t read their lips, but my take on when Rees & Freeman spoke to Pyne on the sideline after horrible 3rd down incompletions was that they were reminding him to quit looking for Mayer on EVERY route & hit your check down when everyone else is covered in drop 8 and the RB is wide open.

Can’t remember if it was both the UNC & BYU game but he really excelled when he would look a receiver off (w/ or w/o a fake pump) and swivel to the opposite side to hit a wide open receiver. Since those games, he simply stays in the pocket (where he has plenty of time) and scans the field where he sees 8 defenders covering up the receivers & still forces the ball into the player w/ the most defenders blanketing him.

After the last three games, it’s hard to imagine he’s going to get much better than what we saw Saturday. Especially when you consider Clemson is a better than average defense & ND really hasn’t been stressed by a dominant D yet.

 

[Irish4life]

Clemson 30

Notre Dame 13

 

[MacIrish75]

It’s too early in the week for this. I’ll circle back on Friday once I’ve changed my mind on how this game will play out at least 6-8 times.

 

[tko]

Clemson has home field advantage and Dabo owns the refs. I don't have much faith in Pyne to be effective enough to balance the attack. Clemson by 11-13 with a late score by ND.

 

[MacIrish75]

Clemson has home field advantage and Dabo owns the refs. I don't have much faith in Pyne to be effective enough to balance the attack. Clemson by 11-13 with a late score by ND.

False. Only Georgia and Nebraska have home field advantage at the stadium.

 

[Luckylucci]

I do not think Clemson is anywhere as good as their ranking. But, that is outweighed by my concern that our offense will struggle mightily in this game. I don't think Clemson's offense will be very exciting either but I don't think it'll be much of a game due to our inability to generate much offense. I think the lack of ability to move the ball will put the defense in tough situations. And, this defense is straight trash in the RZ.

Clemson 24-13.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

It’s too early in the week for this. I’ll circle back on Friday once I’ve changed my mind on how this game will play out at least 6-8 times.

Please do, I hope someone refreshes it on Thursday when I normally post it. I agree it's tough to formulate a solid opinion this early in the week with very few articles to go through.

Just didn't want to leave you guys hanging and forget to post it after I leave town

 

[CANONIZEFATHERSORIN]

Clemson looks really vulnerable and we looked good on Saturday, but there's just no way we have the offensive weapons to compete. They will dare Pyne to beat them over the top, and he literally is not capable of doing that. Probably gonna be like 35-13 Clemson

 

[Irish#1]

Just a hunch that the D elevates their play to another level and Pyne comes out of his funk to play well enough to squeeze out a win.

 

[FOTY977]

Just a hunch that the D elevates their play to another level and Pyne comes out of his funk to play well enough to squeeze out a win.

I would absolutely love this but sadly I only see the D side of this prediction being realistic, but hey—weird stuff happens every week!

 

[Irishnuke]

I think it will be within a TD until Pyne throws a pick 6 with 2 minutes left. Clemson 31 ND 17

 

[T Town Tommy]

Irish gonna get it done here. 27-23. Dabo’s commitment to his QB comes back to bite him as he pulls him too late to make a difference. Pyne hits MM on a seam route mid fourth to give the Irish the lead they never surrender.

 

[Blazers46]

24-3 Clemson

Edit* 31-3 Clemson. I think ND is forced to throw and makes a lot of mistakes. Clemson defense might put on a clinic.

 

[Huntr]

Clemson DL is much, much better than Cuse DL. I don't think ND will be able to run it up the gut at will.

And since that is basically their only offense outside of "force it to a triple-covered Mayer", Irish prob have trouble moving the ball.

 

[MacIrish75]

Clemson DL is much, much better than Cuse DL. I don't think ND will be able to run it up the gut at will.

And since that is basically their only offense outside of "force it to a triple-covered Mayer", Irish prob have trouble moving the ball.

I keep thinking that *maybe* this is the game where we see Tobias and Deion break out and we see some downfield action with them.

 

[NDohio]

I keep thinking that *maybe* this is the game where we see Tobias and Deion break out and we see some downfield action with them.

My thoughts exactly. Throw them some 50/50 balls and let them out duel the Clemson DBs. At worse, ND gets a bunch of PI calls and really frustrates the Clemson D. Put in the tall package and let them do their thing.

 

[GATTACA!]

ND comes out hot and goes into half up 21-3

We hold our butts in the second half and eek out a win 24-20

 

[irishff1014]

My thoughts exactly. Throw them some 50/50 balls and let them out duel the Clemson DBs. At worse, ND gets a bunch of PI calls and really frustrates the Clemson D. Put in the tall package and let them do their thing.

You really think they are gonna throw the ball like this in the predicted weather?

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

EDIT: I've allowed the option to change the vote since I posted it so early in the week. So, flip flop away fellas.

 

[Blazers46]

You really think they are gonna throw the ball like this in the predicted weather?

Please don’t tell me there will be a hurricane and Tommy throws the ball 60 times….

 

[BeatSC]

Ok I suggest the board take note. I called the exact score last week for the game. Feel free to go back to that thread for verification.

Here’s this weeks thread and it should not be a total surprise:

Pyne passes for over 50%.
6 different players get a completion
We get between 150-200 yards rushing
We get 4 sacks and two turnovers
Best game for our WRs (not saying much)
Pyne doesn’t finish the game but not because of performance.
Shipley gets less than 100 total yards (that little douche)

Final score ND 31-17

Suck it Dabo!

 

[Irish#1]

Ok I suggest the board take note. I called the exact score last week for the game. Feel free to go back to that thread for verification.

Here’s this weeks thread and it should not be a total surprise:

Pyne passes for over 50%.
6 different players get a completion
We get between 150-200 yards rushing
We get 4 sacks and two turnovers
Best game for our WRs (not saying much)
Pyne doesn’t finish the game but not because of performance.
Shipley gets less than 100 total yards (that little douche)

Final score ND 31-17

Suck it Dabo!

If you pull this off this week, then I'll be impressed and pay homage. lol

 

[ACamp1900]

Ok I suggest the board take note. I called the exact score last week for the game. Feel free to go back to that thread for verification.

Here’s this weeks thread and it should not be a total surprise:

Pyne passes for over 50%.
6 different players get a completion
We get between 150-200 yards rushing
We get 4 sacks and two turnovers
Best game for our WRs (not saying much)
Pyne doesn’t finish the game but not because of performance.
Shipley gets less than 100 total yards (that little douche)

Final score ND 31-17

Suck it Dabo!

You had a great run there for one week,…..

 

[IrishLion]

Clemson 31-21.

The game starts out promising as we run down Clemson's throat. Drew orchestrates yet another pre-halftime drive to get ND to a 14-3 lead, and everyone is feeling great. Win the middle eight!

Clemson takes their turn after halftime though, clamping down on the run game and bracketing Mayer. They force a three-and-out, score on a quick strike on a short-ish field. They then force a Drew turnover on a tipped pass (so frustrating!), and score quickly on another short field. Suddenly it's 17-14 Clemson, momentum changing like a lightning strike.

The teams trade ugly possessions, until DJ U scampers in for a back-breaking TD run to make it 24-14 late in the 3rd.

The teams trade possessions AGAIN, with both defenses tightening up. Then ND blocks another punt, making it 6 on the year! They score on a short field and have life! 24-21 with all the momentum suddenly pointing towards the Irish midway through the 4th.

Then DJ scrambles on a key third down when ND could have gotten the ball back in traditional field position. ND forces a 4th-and-inches at their own 40. Dabo decides to go for the conversion to keep milking clock, rather than trying a super long field goal. Shipley breaks through the backside of a crowded box, no one is deep enough to catch him, and Clemson takes a 31-21 lead.

ND has enough time for a four-minute drive, with hopes that they can get an onside kick after that... but it fizzles out around mid-field.

Pain.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Clemson 31-21.

The game starts out promising as we run down Clemson's throat. Drew orchestrates yet another pre-halftime drive to get ND to a 14-3 lead, and everyone is feeling great. Win the middle eight!

Clemson takes their turn after halftime though, clamping down on the run game and bracketing Mayer. They force a three-and-out, score on a quick strike on a short-ish field. They then force a Drew turnover on a tipped pass (so frustrating!), and score quickly on another short field. Suddenly it's 17-14 Clemson, momentum changing like a lightning strike.

The teams trade ugly possessions, until DJ U scampers in for a back-breaking TD run to make it 24-14 late in the 3rd.

The teams trade possessions AGAIN, with both defenses tightening up. Then ND blocks another punt, making it 6 on the year! They score on a short field and have life! 24-21 with all the momentum suddenly pointing towards the Irish midway through the 4th.

Then DJ scrambles on a key third down when ND could have gotten the ball back in traditional field position. ND forces a 4th-and-inches at their own 40. Dabo decides to go for the conversion to keep milking clock, rather than trying a super long field goal. Shipley breaks through the backside of a crowded box, no one is deep enough to catch him, and Clemson takes a 31-21 lead.

ND has enough time for a four-minute drive, with hopes that they can get an onside kick after that... but it fizzles out around mid-field.

Pain.

Does Deebo cry to the ACC officials again late in the fourth when they throw a flag for DPI and they pick up the flag?

That was insane. It was clear he was there early on Ben S. and they picked up the flag as it happened near the Clemson sideline. I thought the game was over then in 2020....but Book and Avery Davis had other ideas.

I just don't trust Pyne enough to get the job done Saturday, I hope he makes me eat some crow. Clemson's defensive front 7 is too good to pound the rock without a balanced offense. If Stanford can do it....

Prove me wrong, Irish. Please. Sticking with my prediction. ND loses a heartbreaker. The roller coaster season continues....