Notre Dame AD wants more of 'great rivalry' with Clemson in football

Clemson won the last game between the teams in 2023.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Jan 21 07:00:02 GMT-05:00 2025

Clemson and Notre Dame playing each season in a home-and-home? Notre Dame’s Athletic Director would love to see it.

Clemson won the most recent meeting between the two schools, a 31-23 Tiger victory that started a five-game winning streak to end the season. The Irish were 7-2 entering that game. Both teams made the College Football Playoff this season. Clemson lost to Texas in the first round, while Notre Dame advanced to the National Championship against Ohio State.

In the lead-up to Monday's title game, Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua was asked about Notre Dame's scheduling with the ACC. Notre Dame plays five ACC teams annually as part of a scheduling deal, but this year, it saw just two winning teams from the conference: Louisville and Georgia Tech. Those two finished above .500 but still combined to lose 10 games.

Bevacqua said there is one team he would love to see the Irish play each season.

“When we play a team like Clemson, I think that has become such a great rivalry in such a short amount of time,” Bevacqua said, per Baker. “I would tell you that’s the type of game I’d love to play every year.”

Notre Dame AD: "When we play a team like Clemson, I think that has become such a great rivalry in such a short amount of time. I would tell you that’s the type of game I’d love to play every year."
🤔
— Matt Baker (@MattBakerCFB) January 19, 2025

Clemson leads the all-time series 5-3, with blowout wins over the Irish in the 2018 Cotton Bowl and 2020 ACC Championship. Notre Dame then won back-to-back regular season duels, including a physical win over the Tigers in the cold in South Bend in 2022.

Notre Dame won the initial game in the series, a 21-17 victory by the Irish in Death Valley. That November matchup featured two top-15 squads led by a pair of future Super Bowl champions, Notre Dame’s Joe Montana and Clemson’s Steve Fuller.

Clemson entered the fourth quarter with a 17-7 lead, but Montana and the Irish woke up in time to secure the victory. Notre Dame would go on to win the National Championship.

Clemson traveled to Notre Dame two years later and returned the favor, winning 16-10. Clemson handed the Irish a Senior Day loss, a result that had occurred just twice since 1940. Clemson’s 31-year-old head coach, Danny Ford, had his Tigers run the football 75 times, an opponent record in Notre Dame Stadium at the time.

Despite accumulating 295 total yards in the first half, Notre Dame only led 10-0 at halftime. Clemson then commandeered the football, possessing it for more than 21 of the game’s final 30 minutes. Billy Lott, on a “Counter 28 Option” play, rushed for the third-quarter score that gave Clemson the lead for good.

Redshirt freshman Terry Kinard intercepted two fourth-quarter passes, protecting the Tigers’ six-point advantage.

The teams didn’t play again until 2015. In an epic storm. In a lit-up and hyped-up Death Valley. Clemson won 24-22 in a monsoon. Clemson led 14-0 and eventually 21-3, but the Irish scored 19 points in the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie the game with a 2-point conversion with seven seconds remaining. Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer kept the ball and ran into Clemson linebacker and a wall of orange, sending Clemson on a run of six consecutive College Football Playoff appearances.

Would Clemson consider adding another big name to the schedule? Clemson plays South Carolina each season, and usually plays another big game. The Tigers then play two lesser opponents to account for the four non-conference games. Clemson played Georgia, South Carolina, Appalachian State and The Citadel this season.

The Tigers open with LSU next season and also play the Gamecocks, Troy and Furman. The Tigers open the season at LSU in 2026, and have Notre Dame on the schedule in 2027 and 2028, with Georgia back on the schedule in 2029 and 2030. The Irish are back in 2031, Georgia in 2032 and 2033, Notre Dame in 2034 and Oklahoma in 2035 and 2036. The Irish re-appear in 2037.

That’s five games against Notre Dame in a 13-year span. Rescheduling Notre Dame for the other eight years would require a monumental effort. Would Clemson fans want to add Notre Dame to the regular rotation? We would love to hear your thoughts.