Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said the No. 2 Irishman is “arguably” one of the top four teams in the country, even after losing to No. 3 Clemson in the ACC Championship Game for 34-10.
The Fighting Irish beat Clemson 47-40 in a double overtime in November, but their Saturday night performance in Charlotte, North Carolina was very different as they fell behind and were unable to convert it. in a match after the break.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who missed the first game of Notre Dame after contracting the coronavirus, made a big difference this time as he threw 412 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s win.
The Tigers also had several key defensive starters, including defender James Skalski and defensive tackle Tyler Davis, who made big differences.
Since Notre Dame lost for the first time all season, a place in the college football playoffs is no longer guaranteed. So that means Kelly has to start putting pressure on his team, as Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher did last Saturday.
“We have two wins in the top 15,” Kelly said. “We have a win over this Clemson team that was the No. 1 in the country. I don’t know anyone has a resume that has those two wins, and we’ve played 11 games. That’s important, play 11 games.. Testing the your team week after week, I think in my mind it puts us without a doubt as one of the four best teams in the country. “
Kelly was clearly referring to Ohio State, which won the Big Ten championship, but only played six games and needed the conference to change its rules on eligibility for the championship game even to get there. .
Quarterback Ian Book echoed that sentiment when he described the physical and mental toll that comes after playing 11 games against six.
“He prepares every day for so long, he comes out, he puts his body on the line every play and mentally it’s a 60-minute battle,” Book said. “I’m not on the committee, but it’s difficult. I don’t even remember who we played in week 6, it’s been so long, but that’s part of the game and we’re happy that we’ve played 11 games and we’ve been able to win 10 I think there is a difference, but it does not depend on me “.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney also lobbied for the inclusion of Notre Dame in the top four after his team’s ACC championship victory.
“Absolutely Notre Dame deserves to be there,” Swinney said. “They’re 10-1. They’ve played 11 games. They went into the ring with Clemson twice. They absolutely deserve to be there. There’s no doubt. I wouldn’t punish anyone for playing more games. That’s what we look like we’re doing: Reward to play fewer games and punish to play more. I don’t get it. “
Winning a conference championship would seem to strengthen the Buckeyes ’case, even though they played fewer games.
A day earlier, Kelly said her team wouldn’t even want to participate in the playoffs if families weren’t allowed to attend.
The book seemed to offer a different point of view Saturday night.
“We just want to play again,” he said. “We’ll see who we’re playing and when we’re playing, but we just want to play another game together.”
In the playoffs, preferably.
“I think you look at the whole job based on what we’ve done all year,” Kelly said. “Obviously, we lost against the number 3 team in the country tonight. It wasn’t our best effort, but it was a record: when you play 11 games and win the number 1 team in the country and then you win against an excellent North Carolina team, I don’t know if we need to look any further. “