The Notre Dame Fighting Irish let a golden opportunity slip away as they dropped a 31-23 decision to the Clemson Tigers on Saturday afternoon. The defeat came despite facing an injury-plagued that had dropped its last two contests. One painful reality connected to the loss is that it likely eliminates the Irish from a New Year’s Day bowl berth for the second consecutive year.
Trouble emerged early for Marcus Freeman’s squad and despite opportunities to make a comeback, the effort ultimately failed. That futility was best shown by the Irish’s inability to push across any points over the final 21 minutes of action, with Notre Dame’s offense coming up short on seven different drives.