All are from the 1st, 3rd and 4th quarters:
First downs: Clemson 14, Notre Dame 14
Total yards: Clemson 262, Notre Dame 192
Score: Clemson 10, Notre Dame 3
The difference between these three quarters and the second quarter is stark. Did the loss of one player - a cornerback - really make that much of a difference? Obviously, we'll never know and Clemson might have found another way to score, but I believe this shows Notre Dame isn't that far off...and there's no way Clemson wins by 27. I'm not going to argue that the offense wasn't poor - it was horrendous - but overall, Clemson's offense was pretty impotent for the most part, too, when Love was in.
This is more of a case that we need to be able to replace players adequately when they get hurt and not miss a beat, as Clemson did with Dexter Lawrence.
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That you extend it to the 3rd and 4th Qs. Can’t do that because by then the balance of the game had dramatically shifted.
I do believe there is a legitimate claim for “what if #27 doesn’t get hurt . . . “ but it only can be stretched into a series of contingencies. The bottom line is that the game was tied and not overwhelmingly in either team’s favor. In the second Q, minus Love, Clemson separated primarily by picking on Vaughan. But our offense never showed enough punch to keep the field from tilting too much toward Clemson. And their defense was suffocating.
The offense was inept. No other way to put it. But the dynamics of the game would have been totally different and maybe ND might have scored at least a touchdown more...but we'll never know for sure. I could see something like 20-10 had Love been able to play, but that's probably a best-case scenario.
Tommy Reese Jr and Carlyle Holiday Jr
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Kelly 2.0 is more than just hiring. He has apparently changed how he does things, both personally and professionally, when it comes to the team.
I don't see much difference in offensive production with Long. The offense averaged, I believe, 30 points a game this year. In 2018-19 and beyond, that won't work.
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Your horse died yesterday. Could you consider that Clemson might have still scored another way without throwing toward Love? Your repeated reference to him as the difference maker in the game makes you look foolish. But imgaine you are correct and the game is close at the the half. Clemson would have found another way to score because they don’t depend on one player like you seem to suggest and have much better coaching. And even with him on the field how could he make the offense better? Is that Kelly’s 2.0 job? Let it go.
But come on. Facts are facts. How is it that when he returned for the second half Clemson only managed to score 7 points? You can say Dabo "called off the dogs" or whatever, but a 20-point lead at halftime isn't always safe.
Do you get that. You are trying too hard to find a reason for a way ND could have won. They were overwhelmed period. They are not even close. Which players on ND where better than the same position players on Clemson. I’m talking about the first string since Clemson played the second and third string in the late third and the fourth quarter.
Kicking and secondary. That's about it.