| GAME DAY INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, December 19, 2020 |
| Time | 4 p.m. ET |
| Site: | Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC Fan capacity: 5,240 (Natural grass) |
| TV: | ABC Chris Fowler (play-by-play) Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) Maria Taylor (sideline) |
| Radio: | Notre Dame Radio Network |
| THE COACHES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head Coach | At School | Overall | vs. Opponent | |
| Notre Dame | Brian Kelly | 102-37 (11th year)ˆ | 273-94-2 (30th year)ˆ | 1-2 |
| Clemson | Dabo Swinney | 139-32 (12th year) | 139-32 (12th year) | 2-1 |
| IRISH VS. TIGERS - BY THE NUMBERS | |
|---|---|
| .909 | The winningest quarterback in Notre Dame history, QB Ian Book is 30-3 (.909) as a starter, making him one of only two FBS quarterbacks to boast a .900 or above win rate (min. 20 wins), even as Book ranks 11th overall in total QB career starts (33). His 30 wins rank third among all FBS quarterbacks. |
| 2 | The Irish were ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll beginning November 8, their highest ranking since 2012. Through the Brian Kelly era (11 seasons), the Irish have been ranked in the AP Top 10 at least one week in each of the last seven seasons, and eight of the last nine. |
| 3 | Of the five longest regular-season winning streaks in college football history, Notre Dame has single-handedly ended three of those streaks: Oklahoma’s 45 (1953-57), Miami’s 36 (1985-88) and Clemson’s 36 (2017-20). |
| 4 | WR Javon McKinley has totaled four 100-receiving yard performances in 2020, tied for the most among any ACC player. |
| 4 | Since the start of 2018, Notre Dame is 32-3 (.917). That rate ranks fourth among all teams who have made an appearance in the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014. Among those teams, Notre Dame is one of just four teams that have totaled three or fewer losses (Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State) since the start of 2018. |
| 9 | Notre Dame’s victory over No. 1 Clemson was Notre Dame’s ninth win over an AP No. 1 opponent, which ties for second-most all-time (Miami). Only Alabama has more (10). |
| 16 | The Irish boast a current win streak of 16 games, the longest among all FBS teams. |
| 17.1 | The defense has yielded just 17.1 points/game through the regular season. That figure ranks fifth among all Power 5 teams. |
| 33 | Notre Dame has held 33-of-36 opponents during Clark Lea’s tenure as defensive coordinator to 30 points or less. That includes includes ranked opponents LSU, Michigan, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Clemson, Georgia, Virginia, Navy and North Carolina. |
| 41 | Notre Dame has totaled 41 regular season wins in four years, the most in a four year period in program history. |
| 44:47 | The Irish have only trailed for 44:47 minutes out of a total 600:00 minutes of regulation. |
| 52.8 | Of the Top 10 rushers in the ACC, which includes RB Kyren Williams, the Irish have faced six: North Carolina’s Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, Clemson’s Travis Etienne, Duke’s Mataeo Durant, Florida State’s Jordan Travis and Syracuse’s Sean Tucker. Notre Dame’s defense has limited those six Top-10 running backs to an average of 52.8 yards (317 yards total on 84 carries) and just three total touchdowns among the six. Carter, who leads the ACC with 113.2 rushing yards per game, was held to just 57 vs. Notre Dame. By comparison, against those five teams, Williams posted at least 100 rushing yards in all five matchups, averaging 134.2 yards (671 yards total on 104 carries), with a total of 10 touchdowns. |
| 102 | Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Brian Kelly notched 102 ˆ wins in his Notre Dame career with the victory over Syracuse. Ranking second all-time in program history in career wins, and with 10 wins this season, he has totaled the most double-digit win seasons in school history (six). |
| 120 | Notre Dame is 120-38-7 in neutral site games since 1887. In the Brian Kelly era, the Irish are 17-6. |
| 141 | Notre Dame has outscored opponents 141-35 in the second quarter this season. |
ˆ Includes 20 regular-season wins and two postseason appearances vacated under discretionary NCAA penalty.
2020 Captains
- Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Brian Kelly announced five team captains for Notre Dame’s 2020 football campaign this fall. They include returning 2019 captains QB Ian Book and OL Robert Hainsey, as well as first-time captains S Shaun Crawford, DL Daelin Hayes and DL Adetokunbo Ogundeji.
- Book and Hainsey earn the role as rare two-time captains, just the 23rd and 24th Notre Dame players in the program’s 131-season history to ever serve multiple seasons as a team captain. More than 200 players have served in the captain role for Irish Football.
home field win streak
- Notre Dame has won 24-straight games at home dating back to Sept. 30, 2017, starting with a victory over Miami (Ohio) and extending to the 2020 win over Syracuse (41-25).
- It continues the modern-era record for longest home winning streak for the Irish (28-straight from 1942-50). With the 52-0 shutout of South Florida, the Irish topped the previous modern streak of 19-straight from 1987-90.
- Clemson is the only Power 5 program that boasts a home streak of more than 24 games.
- With the win over Syracuse, the Irish completed an undefeated home slate for the third-consecutive season.
- Notre Dame has not achieved three-straight undefeated home seasons since 1987-89.
- Football student-athletes who are true seniors boast a 25-1 record at Notre Dame Stadium , since beginning their Irish careers in 2017.
- Notre Dame completed an undefeated season at Notre Dame Stadium in 2019 for the third time in five seasons (2015, 6-0 and 2018, 6-0) after finishing 7-0 following a 40-7 win over Boston College. From 1990-2011, only the 1998 campaign (6-0) saw a perfect Notre Dame home slate.
2020 vision
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
- Notre Dame will compete for a football conference championship for the first time in the program’s one-year history of being a conference member.
- For the first time in the 132-year history of the Notre Dame Football Program, the Fighting Irish played the 2020 football season as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (131 years were spent as an independent. The 132nd season is the first in the ACC).
- In the ACC Preseason Order of Finish, the Irish were ranked second behind Clemson, who entered the season as the top-ranked team in the nation. On Nov. 7, Notre Dame beat Clemson at Notre Dame Stadium (47-40, 2OT).
- In a partnership that began in 2014, Notre Dame and the ACC agreed to schedule the Irish to play, on average, five ACC opponents each season. Originally scheduled through the 2025 season, the games have now been scheduled through the 2037 campaign.
- Notre Dame is 32-7 (.821) against ACC opponents since the scheduling agreement began during the 2014 season, and including 2020 play as a conference member.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
- The Irish are ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, their highest ranking since 2012.
- Through the Brian Kelly era (11 seasons), the Irish have been ranked in the AP Top 10 at least one week in each of the last seven seasons, and eight of the last nine.
- The Irish have been ranked in the AP Top 10 for their first game in November in five of the seven seasons of the College Football Playoff’s existence, within striking distance of a playoff spot.
- Notre Dame has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 60-consecutive weeks, the longest such streak for the Irish since the 1994 season (124 weeks).
- The 60-week run currently ranks fourth among all FBS active streaks, which do not include teams who were not listed in the initial AP polls at the beginning of the season (Big Ten and Pac-12).
TAKING ON THE BEST
- Notre Dame’s victory over No. 1 Clemson was Notre Dame’s ninth win over an AP No. 1 opponent, which ties for second-most all-time (Miami). Only Alabama has more (10).
- The matchup with Clemson was the first game for the Irish against the No. 1 team in the Brian Kelly era. Notre Dame has played one other Top 10 team at home in that span: No. 8 ND winning 38-17 over No. 7 Stanford (2018).
- Notre Dame has won six of the last seven games when playing No. 1 as a top-five team.
- Notre Dame’s 47 points vs. Clemson are the most an Irish team has ever scored against a No. 1 opponent.
- Of the five longest regular-season winning streaks in college football history, Notre Dame has single-handedly ended three of those streaks: Oklahoma’s 45 (1953-57), Miami’s 36 (1985-88) and Clemson’s 36 (2017-20).
- Since the start of 2018, Notre Dame is 33-3 (.917). That rate ranks fourth among all teams who have made an appearance in the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014.
- Among those teams, Notre Dame is one of just four teams that have totaled three or fewer losses since the beginning of 2018.
LAST TIME: Clemson
- November 7, 2020 – Notre Dame 47, Clemson 40 (OT):
- In the most anticipated game at Notre Dame Stadium in over a decade, No. 4 Notre Dame took down No. 1 Clemson, 47-40. The Irish earned their ninth win in program history over an A.P. No. 1, which ties Miami for second all-time.
- The Irish led the Tigers for a majority of the game, until Clemson broke through with 3:33 remaining to take a 33-26 lead.
- With 1:48 left, Ian Book led the Irish with an eight-play, 91-yard drive, highlighted by a 53-yard pass to Avery Davis. Book later hit Davis for a TD to tie.
- Clemson scored in overtime, and the Irish responded with a Kyren Williams rush into the endzone.
- The Irish then started the second overtime with the ball. A 12-yard rush from Book, followed by a 10-yard reception by Ben Skowronek, was punctuated by another three-yard touchdown run from Williams.
- Notre Dame’s defense recorded back-to-back sacks to set up an eventual Clemson 4th-and-24. The Irish denied the ensuing passing play and earned its 23rd consecutive win at home.
- The Fighting Irish defense held the Tigers to 34 rushing yards for their lowest total since 2009 while limiting Travis Etienne to his fewest yards per carry of his career (1.6).
