No. 4 Notre Dame upsets top-ranked Clemson in double overtime

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WIS) - For the second straight week, Clemson needed to find a way to rally after trailing at the half to remain undefeated.

However, erasing a 13-point deficit wasn’t enough for the Tigers. It took double overtime to determine a winner. Thanks to two late touchdowns by Kyren Williams, fourth-ranked Notre Dame took down top-ranked Clemson 47-40 in double overtime.

Clemson found themselves on the wrong end of a slow start again this week. This time, Notre Dame cashed in and put points on the board on the first play from scrimmage. Kyren Williams carried the ball 65 yards to open the game putting the Tigers in a 7-0 hole.

Following a 24-yard Notre Dame field goal by Jonathan Doerer, Clemson got on the board with 4:11 left in the first quarter. A 53-yard pass from DJ Uiagalelei to Cornell Powell capped a 4-play, 75-yard drive making it 10-7 in favor of the Irish.

Clemson finished with just 93 yards in the opening quarter.

Notre Dame continued to put points on the board in the second quarter. After both teams each put up field goals, the Irish defense got involved. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah picked up a Travis Etienne fumble and returned it 23 yards for a score. That put Notre Dame up 20-10 with 5:35 left in the half.

Doerer and Potter each tacked on field goals and the Irish entered the locker room with a 23-13 lead. Notre Dame outgained Clemson 245-225 in the first half.

Clemson made their move in the third quarter. The Tigers put up 10 points in the period including a 10-yard touchdown pass from Uiagalelei to Davis Allen that tied the game 23-23 with 4:12 left in the quarter.

Again, the kickers traded field goals in the fourth quarter before Clemson took their first lead of the night. A lengthy 12-play drive was punctuated by a 3-yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne to make it 33-26 Clemson with 3:33 left.

With 1:48 left, Notre Dame needed to find a way to tie the game in hopes of forcing overtime. The Irish marched 91 yards on eight plays with Ian Book finding Avery Davis in the end zone on a 4-yard pass to tie the game at 33-33 to ultimately force overtime.

Book was 22-of-39 passing for 310 yards and the previously mentioned touchdown in the win.

Clemson wasted little time in overtime scoring. Following a 24-yard pass from Uiagalelei to Powell, the freshman quarterback plowed into the end zone for a 1-yard option read to put the Tigers up 40-33.

Uiagalelei was 29-of-44 passing for 439 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown.

Notre Dame responded in their offensive drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by Kyren Williams. The junior added another touchdown in double overtime to help the Irish seal it.

Williams finished with 140 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries.

Notre Dame put up 519 total yards in the victory while Clemson posted 473 in the loss.

The loss ends a streak of 36 straight regular-season wins for the Tigers.

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