Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers have been looking for a signature win all season. On Saturday, they finally found it when they held on to defeat the Fighting Irish.
After playing on the road more than a month, the Clemson Tigers returned home and delivered an upset win over Notre Dame. Clemson hung on for the 31-23 victory despite losing running back Will Shipley to an injury. Junior Phil Mafah filled in for Shipley, gained 186 yards and scored two touchdowns. Swinney's success at Clemson has created expectations the program should compete for championships every year.
Clemson led 31-16 in the third quarter. But, Notre Dame pulled within one score on Sam Hartman’s 26-yard scramble score. Hartman finished the game with two interceptions. The Tigers leaned on their special teams and defense the rest of the way. Four times after that, the Tigers downed punts inside the Notre Dame 15 — including a nifty quick kick by quarterback Cade Klubnik — and the Irish could never get out of the hole.
Notre Dame got a last chance when Mafah fumbled with 1:47 to go on its own 22. But a second Hartman interception gave the Tigers the ball back with just under one minute remaining. Clemson ran out the clock and set off a celebration for Death Valley fans who had little to cheer about this season. Swinney moved past the late Frank Howard in all-time Clemson wins with 166 after missing on his first two chances.
Notre Dame has a bye week this week, while Clemson hosts Georgia Tech next week. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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