Clemson-Notre Dame ACC Championship Week: Q&A preview with UHND.com

Book has shined this season. (ACC photo)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Dec 16 07:01:03 GMT-04:00 2020

ACC Championship.

College Football Playoff spot(s?).

Revenge/redemption on one side and validation on the other.

There’s a lot on the line Saturday afternoon in Charlotte between No. 2 Notre Dame (10-0) and No. 3 Clemson (9-1). We take a deep dive into the rematch with Frank Vitovitch of UHND.com:

What has been the biggest difference in Ian Book since the first few weeks of the season? He has a knack for getting out of trouble, and early on everyone questioned the downfield passing game. They don't question it now, so what has changed for him?

In each of the last two seasons, Book has started slow and looked uncomfortable in the pocket. He would miss some open, easy reads and hold on to the ball too long. In each of the last two seasons, though, he got much more comfortable and confident in the pocket and had fantastic second halves of the season.

Part of the reason for that is trust in his receivers. Notre Dame lost their top two receivers and top tight end to the NFL in the off-season (both Cole Kmet and Chase Claypool were 2nd round picks), leaving the Irish with a new cast of characters to throw the ball to this year.

That wide receiver rotation was hit with injuries in the off-season too. Notre Dame’s expected top two receivers - Kevin Austin and Braden Lenzy - combined for 8 catches for 81 yards because of injuries. Austin was expected to be the heir apparent to Claypool, but he’s out for the year. Lenzy has returned to the lineup, but he’s been mostly ineffective so far after dealing with a balky hamstring. Notre Dame forced him the ball two weeks ago, though, so they are either trying to jump-start him or just wanted to put some things on tape for Venables to prepare for.

It took some time for Book to start feeling comfortable with the group that has emerged, but the Clemson game was the turning point in that regard. Notre Dame wasn’t 100% sure that they’d have Javon McKinley back for a 5th year heading into the spring, but he emerged as a reliable target for Book. Through the first six games of the year, McKinley had 14 catches for just 264 yards. In the four games since, including Clemson, he has 23 receptions for 396 yards and 3 TDs.

Once Book started developing more chemistry with his receivers, he got more comfortable and confident in the pocket. Instead of missing reads or hanging on to the ball too long, he started using his legs much more effectively.

How have the Irish enjoyed playing in the ACC this season (full time), and would inclusion in the league be something that might interest Notre Dame soon? We know how the Irish cherish that independence and some of the long-standing rivalries, so does that change after this season?

Being the ACC this year has been fun for Notre Dame and its fans this year, but I can’t see it being something Notre Dame would seriously consider full-time any time soon. Notre Dame values its independence. It’s part of the program’s uniqueness, even though it doesn’t make much financial sense for the University. Most people don’t realize that Notre Dame would make substantially more revenue from the massive deals that the conferences have with the major networks. Notre Dame’s contract with NBC, while unique, pales in comparison from a pure revenue perspective.

Brian Kelly was asked about this Sunday, and it was actually the first time he answered it as candidly as he did. I think it took Kelly a little while to fully grasp how much independence means to Notre Dame when he got here, but after a decade at Notre Dame, he gets it.

Some Notre Dame fans have dove into the whole conference experience, though. One fansite has even produced these “Rocking Around the ACC” holiday-themed shirts (proceeds go to charity). My hoodie with this design is scheduled to be delivered in time for Saturday.

The win over Clemson in early November might not even register in the Top 50 all-time in big wins for Notre Dame (your history is long and storied), but where does it rank in terms of the Brian Kelly era?

I wouldn’t say the win in November isn’t in the top 50 all-time. That was a huge, huge win for this program. Notre Dame had not beaten the No. 1 team in the country since 1993 when they upset Charlie Ward, Bobby Bowden, and Florida State. It was easily the biggest win of the Brian Kelly era. Last year I wrote about the top 10 games of the 2010s (aka the Brian Kelly Era), and the top two were Notre Dame’s wins over Oklahoma and Stanford in 2012. The win over Clemson in November was more significant than both.

In terms of where it ranks all-time, the rest of the season will help determine that. I ranked those wins in 2012 No. 1 and 2 because they led to Notre Dame going to their only BCS Title game (even if we did get boat-raced once there). If Notre Dame ends up winning a title this year, that game will rank as one of the best regular-season wins in program history.

I was blown away by the strength of the offensive and defensive lines in the win over the Tigers and felt like that was the difference. What were your thoughts on the one or two things that spelled the difference between victory and defeat that night?

Notre Dame’s offensive line giving Book a relatively clean pocket and the Notre Dame pass rush finally waking up in the second overtime. Notre Dame had some tough sledding in the run game outside of Kyren Williams’s long run on the game’s first drive. The line did give Book solid pass protection, though, and when they didn’t, Book escaped pressure well enough for Notre Dame to move the ball, unlike in the Cotton Bowl two years ago when Book was running for his life.

Defensively, Notre Dame’s line doesn’t possess a single superstar, but its depth allows Notre Dame to keep sending waves of DL out there so that they are fresh at the end of games. I think that was the difference in overtime. Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji don’t have to play every down because of Notre Dame’s depth, so by the second overtime, they still had gas in the tank and finally got home with back to back sacks.

This time around, the Irish offensive line is banged up with starting center Jarrett Patterson out for the year, and backup Zeke Correll hobbled with an ankle injury. That could be a big difference this time. Correll and Josh Lugg, who has also filled in at center, has had some botched snaps the last two games.

Defensively, Notre Dame gets two reserve DL back this weekend - DT Jayson Ademilola and NT Jacob Lacey.

Finally, what will be the one key for Notre Dame in the rematch? One thing they have to do to be able to win the conference title.

Turnovers. Notre Dame forced two huge fumbles in the second quarter that swung the momentum in their favor. It was somewhat uncharacteristic for the Irish defense this year, too, because it has struggled at times to force turnovers for as good as the defense has been. The Syracuse game helped pad Notre Dame’s defensive stats in that department, but the Irish have produced just 16 turnovers all season long. Four of them came in the Syracuse game.

I don’t see Notre Dame winning this game unless the Irish defense can generate some turnovers again and if the Irish offense doesn’t protect the football a little better this time around. When Book fumbled into the endzone last month, almost every single Notre Dame fan thought, “here we go again.”

Without the benefit of playing at home and with Clemson being healthier this time out, Notre Dame has to win the turnover battle to have a chance for a repeat victory.

A close second would be winning in the trenches again, but winning in the trenches has been a hallmark of this team, so at this point, I expect, at the very least, for Notre Dame to hold their own in the trenches again.