With Lawrence back, Clemson and Notre Dame meet for ACC title

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The stage is set for a marquee Top 25 showdown in the ACC title game Saturday.

Everyone watching will be eager to see if Notre Dame can upend Clemson now that the Tigers have starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence back in the lineup.

The Fighting Irish beat then top-ranked Clemson in a thrilling 47-40 double-overtime shootout earlier this season. But Lawrence was sidelined because of covid-19 and spent the game watching from the sideline in a mask.

But the projected No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft will be front and center in Saturday’s highly anticipated rematch.

“He’s a proven winner,” said Notre Dame defensive end Daelin Hayes. “He’s played in a lot of big games. That calm, that cool. … You can’t put a price on that experience.”

Maybe not a price, but with him in the lineup, fourth-ranked Clemson (9-1, 8-1 ACC, No. 3 CFP) is a 10 1/2-point favorite to beat No. 2 Notre Dame (10-0, 9-0, No. 2 CFP) and earn its sixth consecutive berth in the College Football Playoff.

Hayes has seen what Lawrence can do first hand, remembering well how the long-haired QB led Clemson to a 30-3 win over the Irish in the Sugar Bowl in 2018 en route to winning the national championship.

“It feels good to be at the point where we knew we would be,” Lawrence said. “We weren’t perfect, obviously, but you don’t have to be perfect. These next three games, hopefully, are huge. That’s been our goal the whole time.”

To play three more games the Tigers might have to win Saturday.

No two-loss team ever has been selected for the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014.

While Lawrence’s return is the key storyline entering the game, Clemson’s offensive production wasn’t necessarily the problem in the first matchup. Clemson’s defense was the bigger issue.

Ian Book, the winningest QB in Notre Dame history, lit up Clemson for 310 yards passing, and sophomore Kyren Williams ran for 140 yards and three TDs.

But Clemson hopes that unit will be bolstered by the return of linebacker James Skalski, who, like Lawrence, didn’t play in the first game.

The Tigers have won five straight ACC titles under coach Dabo Swinney, and Notre Dame is seeking its first conference title after spending 131 years as an independent. Win or lose, unbeaten Notre Dame would seem to be a lock for the four-team playoff.

Since admitting frustration after a 11-of-19, 106-yard passing performance in a 12-7 home victory against Louisville on Oct. 17, Book has stepped up his game in the final six, throwing for 1,668 yards and 12 touchdowns. During that span he also has rushed 57 times for 339 yards (5.9 yards average) and three scores.

“I love the way Ian Book plays. He never lets anything get to him,” said Notre Dame wideout Javon McKinley.

Notre Dame’s defense, meanwhile, held Travis Etienne and the Tigers to 1 yard per carry in the first game.

“We are centered around stingy run defense and making teams become one dimensional,” said Irish coach Brian Kelly. “Then it gives you the opportunity to dictate down and distance, and we’ve been really good on third down.”

Clemson was 4 of 15 on third downs conversions against Notre Dame in the first meeting.