The game couldn’t have started in a worse fashion for the Irish. DeShaun Watson ran a quick draw on the first play for 38 yards. Six plays later, Watson found Jordan Leggett for a quick 7-0 lead. Three plays and a poor punt by Tyler Newsome put the Tigers in great field position. Watson found Scott for another quick score, and before anyone finished their first drink, Clemson was up 14-0.

Field position was a common theme the rest of the half. The Irish were continually working with a long field and could not sustain drives. A Justin Yoon field goal made it 14-3, but the Irish never seemed a threat to score a touchdown, save for a dropped Corey Robinson pass from Kizer at the 2 yard line.

The start of the 2^nd half was an absolute nightmare for the Irish. C.J. Sanders fumbled the opening kickoff and Clemson recovered. In three qucik plays, Watson found pay dirt on a 21-yard rush. On the ensuing series, C.J. Prosise fumbled, but the Irish defense held to force a Clemson punt. The Irish finally got something going on offense late in the 3^rd quarter. A Cole Luke interception and a C.J. Prosise wheel route for 56 yards put the Irish in the end zone. However, Brian Kelly decided to go for 2 points. As visions of Northwestern started running though the NDNation, and poor clock management forced a time out, Corey Robinson let the 2 points slip through his fingers, and the Irish were down 21-9.

Clemson followed with a quick field goal to extended their lead to 24-9, but DeShone Kizer lead the Irish down the field and finished the drive with a 3 yard run to close the gap to 24-16. Unfortunately, Kizer threw an interception on the Irish’s next possession to put the Irish defense in a hole. However, the Irish defense once again held tough and forced a missed field goal.

With just over 4 minutes left, the Irish rallied, and despite an obvious pass interference call that was missed in the end zone, Chris Brown found himself 4 yards from the goal line. Only issue was he forgot to bring the ball with him. Brown’s fumble seemed to be the end the game. At this point, by blood pressure was at an unsafe level.

To their credit, the Irish defense once again came up with a stop, and a short punt put the Irish at the Clemson 32 with just over a minute left. Kizer showed his guts by making a huge pass completion to Amir Carlisle on 3^rd and 16 for a first down. The Irish drove to the 2-yard line with 12 seconds left. Notre Dame fans across the globe immediately started to think of Florida State 2014. The Irish ran a very similar play and this time succeeded without any questionable offensive interference. Tori Hunter Jr. hauled in the one yard pass and the Irish trailed 24-22. Sadly, the final 2-point play design left much to be desired. A roll out quarterback keeper was well short and with that, any chance for a perfect season.

Let’s answer Jay’s pregame questions:

1. Will Kizer and the youthful Irish be able to handle the “Death Valley” atmosphere? Yes and no. The Irish showed amazing fortitude in battling back against the weather elements, the crowd and the deficit, however, the turnovers proved too costly to overcome.
2. Will the long layoff aid the Tigers in a measurable way? The Tigers hit the Irish in the mouth to start the game. It took 3 quarters for the Irish to recover.
3. Can the Irish offensive line continue to dominate against a very talented defensive line? A resounding NO!   What we hoped was the 2015 version of a Joe Moore line, was a line that got little push and opened few holes for Prosise.
4. Will BVG’s defense contain Clemson’s playmakers and find ways to force Watson into turnovers? Clemson did not have many big chunk plays on offense and Watson threw one interception. But poor tackling and the quick scores to begin the first and second half were huge plays.
5. Must Fuller become a decoy, or can he continue to excel against a reputed lockdown corner? Fuller was not nearly as “savage” as he thought. Although not targeted often, a huge drop on a 3^rd down play was painful.
6. Was Clemson’s win over 0-3 Louisville deceptively good, or are they not really a top ten team? It’s hard to gage how good Clemson really is. They won, so you have to tip your hat to them. They got the job done. The Tigers ran the ball much more effectively than most assumed. Their defensive line proved to be very good at stopping the run. The won turnover battle 4-1, yet were 2 yards from potentially losing a game at home in which they lead by 18 in the 4^th quarter. Their defense is stout, but do they have enough offense to beat a team like Baylor or TCU?!?!

Where does Notre Dame go from here? It feels like we have all seen this movie before. The Irish lose a close game late against an ACC favorite on the road and have to play Navy in their following game and a PAC 12 team the week after. This two game stretch could very well determine Kelly’s legacy and if he will be at Notre Dame beyond 2015. The Irish played poorly tonight, yet had enough guts and talent to be a mere few yards from winning. However, the consistent inconsistency of Kelly and his teams continue to prevent them from being an elite program. A true sign of progress would be Notre Dame beating Navy by 30 and then beating USC. Finishing the year 11-1 and being in the mix for the playoff. Although, Kelly has not shown enough in 6 years to make fans think that anything other than 8-5 season is on the horizon. He has 2 months to prove people wrong. I hope to be eating crow instead of turkey after Thanksgiving weekend.

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