Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said the No. 2 Irish are “without a doubt” one of the top four teams in the country, even after losing to No. 3 Clemson in the ACC championship game 34-10.
The Fighting Irish beat Clemson 47-40 in double overtime in November, but their Saturday night performance in Charlotte, North Carolina, was very different as they fell early and couldn’t make it into a game after half time.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who missed the first Notre Dame game after contracting the coronavirus, made a huge difference this time when he threw for 412 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s win.
The Tigers also had some important defensive starters back, including linebacker James Skalski and defensive tackle Tyler Davis, who were big difference makers.
With Notre Dame losing for the first time all season, it is now no longer guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff. So that means Kelly has to start lobbying for his team, as Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher did earlier Saturday.
“We have two top 15 wins,” said Kelly. “We’ve had a win over this Clemson team that was No. 1 in the country. I don’t know if anyone has a resume with those two wins, and we’ve played 11 games. That’s important, playing 11 games. Testing your team week after week, I think we are without a doubt one of the top four teams in the country in my mind. “
Kelly was clearly referring to Ohio State, which won the Big Ten Championship, but only played six games and needed the conference to change the rules on eligibility for the championship game to even reach it.
Quarterback Ian Book echoed that feeling when describing the physical and mental toll that begins after playing eleven against six.
“You prepare for so long every day, you go out, you put your body on the line with every game and mentally it’s a 60 minute battle,” Book said. “I’m not 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 we played 11 games and won 10. . them. I think there is a difference, but it’s not up to me. “
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney also lobbied for Notre Dame to be included in the top four following his team’s ACC championship win.
“Notre Dame absolutely deserves to be in,” Swinney said. They are 10-1. They played 11 games. They got into the ring twice with Clemson. Absolutely, they deserve to compete. There is no doubt about that. I would never punish anyone for playing more games. we seem to do: reward for playing fewer games and punish for playing more. I don’t get that. “
Winning a conference championship seems to bolster Buckeyes’ cause, even though they played fewer games.
A day earlier, Kelly said his team might not even want to participate in the playoffs if families were not allowed to participate.
Book seemed to offer a different point of view on Saturday night.
“We just want to play again,” he said. “We will see who we play with and when we play, but we just want to play a different game together.”
Preferably in the playoff.
“I think you’re looking at the body of work in terms of what we’ve been doing all year,” said Kelly. “We clearly lost to the number 3 ranked team in the country tonight. It was not our best effort, but consistency – if you play 11 games and you have a win over the number 1 team in the country and then you win. against an excellent team from North Carolina, I don’t know you need to look any further. ”