Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly feels his fourth-ranked Irish team has the basic pieces in place – an experienced offensive line, an athletic defense and a veteran quarterback in fifth-year senior Ian Book – that it needs to compete against No. 1 Clemson when the two squads take the field for tonight’s primetime showdown in South Bend.
Notre Dame is running the football for an average of 231.0 yards per game and ranks fourth nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 10.3 points per game, while Book has completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 1,225 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception to go with 212 yards rushing and five more scores on the ground.