SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Kyren Williams had a 3-yard touchdown run in the second overtime, and No. 4 Notre Dame shut down top-ranked Clemson with a couple of sacks to seal a 47-40 victory Saturday night, the Fighting Irish’s first victory over a No. 1 in 27 years.
Clemson (7-1 overall, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) had won 36 straight games and had not lost to an ACC team since 2017. The Fighting Irish (7-0, 6-0), playing in the ACC only because of the pandemic, snapped both streaks and sparked fans to storm the field in a celebration that most definitely did not meet the CDC’s social distancing guidelines.
After Williams gave Notre Dame the lead on the first possession of the second OT, the Irish pushed Clemson back with back-to-back sacks on D.J. Uiagalelei by Adetokunbo Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes on the first two plays.
The big, freshman quarterback completed to passes after the second-and-39, but the final one was way short of the line to gain and a couple of laterals didn’t help.
The Fighting Irish have won 13 straight games, snapped an 11-game losing streak against top-five teams and beat a No. 1 for the first time since taking down Florida State in 1993 at Notre Dame Stadium in a meeting, at the time, that was billed as “The Game of the Century.”
Uiagalelei, starting in place for Trevor Lawrence for a second straight week, passed for 439 yards, the most ever by an Notre Dame opponent. Lawrence was on the sideline for this one, a few days out of isolation after having COVID-19.
“I’d like to have Dabo’s problems with those two guys,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said. “DJ was just outstanding.“
The biggest game at Notre Dame Stadium since No. 1 Southern California beat the Irish with the Push Bush in 2005 had only 11,011 in attendance, mostly students, because of pandemic restrictions.
The Fighting Irish needed a two-week break earlier this season because of a COVID-19 outbreak, but it didn’t keep them from entering this showdown with Clemson unbeaten.
They might just see each other again in the ACC championship game in December.
“Man, I think its very likely,” said Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who returned a fumble for a touchdown in the first half as the Irish built a 13-point lead.
Uiagalelei sneaked into the end zone on the second play of overtime to put Clemson up 40-33. Notre Dame responded with a 3-yard touchdown run by Williams and kick to tie it instead of going for 2 to end it.
Five seasons ago when these teams last played on a rainy night in Clemson, the Tigers stopped the Irish on a potential tying 2-point conversion with 7 seconds left in regulation.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney famously said it was a BYOG game: “Bring your own guts.” The Tigers needed to back pack some guts and then some for the their first trip to South Bend since 1979.
Not only were the Tigers missing Lawrence, but three key defensive starters were out with injuries.
“We didn’t win the game, but you saw what this team is made of,” Swinney said. “This team is made of the right stuff.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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