SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Prince Kollie scored on a blocked punt, Benjamin Morrison returned an interception 96 yards for a touchdown and had another interception to set up another score as Notre Dame earned its second straight win over a ranked opponent, beating No. 4 Clemson 35-14 on Saturday night.
It was just the third win over a top-10 opponent for the Fighting Irish (6-3) in their last 10 games since 2018. The other wins were against No. 8 Stanford in 2018 and top-ranked Clemson in 2020.
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Just as in that 47-40 victory two years ago, fans stormed the field to celebrate. The loss ended a 14-game winning streak by the Tigers (8-1), the longest active streak among FBS teams. It was Clemson’s fifth road loss since 2015.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney pulled DJ Uiagalelei for a second straight game, even though the quarterback had completed 13 of 19 passes for 78 yards when he was replaced by Cade Klubnik late in the third quarter. This time it backfired, though, as Klubnik was pressured by Justin Ademilola and his pass was intercepted by Morrison at the 14-yard line. The Irish scored three plays later on Audric Estime’s 2-yard run to make it 21-0.
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Uiagabele returned in the next series and drove the Tigers to the Irish 19-yard line before Morrison intercepted the pass to Joseph Ngata at the 4-yard line and returned it for a touchdown.
With winds of 20 mph and Drew Pyne struggling in recent games, the Irish leaned heavily on their running game, even though Clemson entered ranked seventh nationally against the run, giving up 87.9 yards a game. Logan Diggs rushed for 114 yards on 17 carries, and the Irish compiled 263 rushing yards, the most rushing yards allowed by Clemson this season. The previous high was 206 yards by Florida State.
It was the second-highest rushing game this season for the Irish, who improved to 5-0 when they run for more than 200 yards.
Pyne was 9-for-17 passing for 85 yards and added a 5-yard rushing touchdown. It was the fourth straight game that Pyne failed to complete more than 50% of his passes after completing 74% of his passes in his first three starts.
Uiagalelei finished the game 27 of 39 for 191 yards. Clemson was held to 90 yards rushing.
The Tigers avoided the shutout when Will Shipley, who ran for 63 yards on 12 carries, scored on a 1-yard run with 10 mintues, 14 seconds left in the game, and Uiagaalelei threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Ngata with 1:35 left. The Irish added a 17-yard scoring pass from Pyne to Mike Mayer with 4:16 left.
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The Irish dominated Clemson in the first half, rushing for 122 yards and amassing 163 yards overall while holding the Tigers to 30 yards rushing and 71 yards overall. But the big play was the Irish blocking their fourth punt in the last three games on Clemson’s opening drive after the Tigers lost 11 yards after being called twice for holding. Linebacker Jordan Botelho broke through the line and got two hands on the Aidan Swanson punt, and Kollie caught it in the air and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown.
The Irish opened a 14-0 lead 38 seconds before halftime when they drove 78 yards on 11 plays, with all but one of the plays being on runs. Estimee had six runs for 35 yards, Chris Tyree had three runs for 17 yards and Pyne threw an 11-yard pass to Michael Mayer and ran twice, scoring on a 5-yard run.
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The Irish had another scoring opportunity, but a 42-yard field-goal attempt by Blake Grupe sailed wide left.
Clemson: The Tigers appear unlikely to earn their seventh playoff appearance in eight years after a lopsided defeat to a three-loss team and no games left against ranked teams.
Notre Dame: The high point for the Irish in coach Marcus Freeman’s first season as coach was playing No. 2 Ohio State tough for three quarters. This is Notre Dame’s biggest victory since students stormed the field after a 47-40 double-overtime victory over top-ranked Clemson two years ago.
Clemson: Finishes the season with three home games, starting Saturday against Louisville.
Notre Dame: Travels to Baltimore to face Navy on Saturday.
