Notre Dame Beats Clemson 47-40 in Double Overtime, Handing Tigers First Regular Season Loss Since 2017

By Kevin Harrish on November 8, 2020 at 12:47a
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Clemson has fallen.

Notre Dame handed the nation's top-ranked team its first regular season loss since 2017 on Saturday night, beating the Tigers 47-40 in double overtime and snapping a number of lengthy streaks in the process.

The Tigers were without starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but that was not the issue for Clemson as five-star freshman D.J. Uiagalelei threw for 439 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in place of Lawrence.

Clemson's struggles came on the defensive side of the ball and in the running game.

The Tigers surrendered 519 total yards to the Fighting Irish on Saturday night, including a 90-yard game-tying drive that took under a minute. Quarterback Ian Book had his best passing performance of the year, throwing for 310 yards and a touchdown while running back Kyren Williams gashed the Tigers for 140 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Clemson also struggled to get anything going on the ground, finishing with just 34 rushing yards on 33 carries as a team. Travis Etienne, widely considered one of the top running backs in the country who accounted for 240 yards against Boston College the previous week, had just 28 yards rushing on 18 carries.