Turnovers cost No. 6 Notre Dame in 24-22 loss
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly understands too well dramatic rallies that fall short are simply losses.
He watched that unfold Saturday night as the sixth-ranked Irish got off to a slow start, then turned the ball over four times in the second half in a 24-22 loss at No. 12 Clemson.
The Irish (4-1) gave up two touchdowns in the first seven minutes and fell behind 21-3 right after halftime. Yet quarterback DeShone Kizer gave them a chance to win before he was stopped on a two-point conversion run with seven seconds left, putting an end to Notre Dame's perfect start and, perhaps, its run at the College Football Playoffs.
"We're too far along for moral victories," said Kelly, in his sixth season.
In the end, Kelly said it was Clemson's two far-too-easy touchdowns in the first 7 minutes along with the turnovers that cost the Irish in this one.
"If they take care of the football and start fast, they are going to win the football game," Kelly said.
Kizer said he should've lowered his shoulder on that final play, instead letting Watkins stand him up short of the goal line. He said the Irish can take some lessons away from the loss.
"That way we played in the fourth quarter, that's the way we have to play all the time," he said.
Clemson linebacker B.J. Goodson had an interception and a fumble recovery to choke off two Notre Dame chances in the last 7 minutes. Still, the Irish were a play away from overtime - and keeping alive their undefeated season.
"They say the luck of the Irish," Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. "We had some luck, too."
Like kicker Ammon Lakip getting a helmet on the ball on the second-half kickoff, forcing C.J. Sanders to fumble. Moments later, Watson was in the end zone after a 21-yard run for a 21-3 lead.
On Notre Dame's next series, sure-handed runner C.J. Prosise fumbled with the ball bouncing out to where only Clemson safety Jayron Kearse could recover.
"If you told me we were going to turn the ball over four times, I was going to tell you we would lose," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. "It doesn't take a genius (to know) we turned the ball over four times and lost.
Still, Kizer brought the Irish back one final time with a 1-yard TD pass to Torii Hunter Jr.
But after Watkins stop, Clemson secured the Notre Dame's onside kick and closed out the victory, moving to 4-0 for fourth time in five years. It also kept Clemson in the mix for the four-team playoff. The Tigers biggest hurdle appears to be against No. 11 Florida State on Nov. 7, which will likely decide the ACC's Atlantic Division.
The Tigers are thinking about much more.
"We've got our eyes on the prize," cornerback MacKensie Alexander said.
Waterlogged Clemson fans rushed the field when time ran out, celebrating the win over the highest-ranked Tigers opponent since No. 5 Georgia to start the 2013 season. Those title dreams died a few weeks later when undefeated Clemson was stomped by eventual national champion Florida State, which put up the most points ever scored by an opponent in Death Valley in a 51-14 loss.
Another loss was surely on many minds as Clemson saw its 18-point lead sliced to two after Hunter's TD catch.
This time, though, the defense held strong.
Watson accounted for 190 yards, 93 of those coming on the ground. He had a 21-yard TD run early in third quarter to put the Tigers up 21-3. That's when Notre Dame's defense rose up to give its offense a chance to come back.
Kizer had a 56-yard scoring pass to Prosise, Notre Dame's eighth touchdown this season of at least 50 yards. The Irish closed to 24-16 on Kizer's 3-yard scoring run to set up the wild final moments.
The rainstorm that saturated much of the East Coast was a focus of the week. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley - a Clemson graduate whose picture is on one of the Tigers' offensive play-call signs - told fans to stay home unless they had to attend. The stands, though, were filled with orange ponchos and raincoats as the rain fell.