DALLAS (FWAA) – The fourth-ranked Notre
Dame Fighting Irish scored a touchdown with 22 seconds
left in regulation to take the game to overtime, then slammed Clemson
back on its second overtime possession to claim a 47-40 win over
the No. 1 Tigers. For ending Clemson's ACC-record 36-game regular-season
win streak and overtaking the country's longest current win streak
(13), Notre Dame (7-0) has earned the Reveal Suits National
Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Nov.
7, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the sixth time for Notre Dame (7-0) to earn the Team
of the Week honor and first since 2017. All Division I FBS and FCS
schools are eligible to be selected. This is the 19th season for
the FWAA to award a Team of the Week.
Notre Dame, which has started the season 7-0 for the third time
under head coach Brian Kelly, scored on its first official play
when Kyren Williams ran 65 yards for a touchdown and led for most
of the game. The Irish also scored on their final play of regulation
when, starting with 1:48 left on the clock, Ian Book took Notre
Dame on an eight-play, 91-yard scoring drive, the key play being
a 53-yard pass to Avery Davis that put the Irish in the red zone.
Three plays later Book hit Davis again for a four-yard touchdown
pass to tie the game at 33-33.
Williams scored touchdowns on both Irish overtime periods and
the clincher was provided by Notre Dame's defense. Back-to-back
sacks by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Daelin Hayes pushed Clemson
back to a fourth-and-24, and the ensuing pass didn't gain the needed
yards. Notre Dame's defense held the Tigers to 34 rushing yards
– its lowest total since 2009 – and kept Travis Etienne, the ACC's
all-time leading rusher, to 28 yards on 18 carries.
Also of note was Irish placekicker Jonathan Doerer, who set a
program record with 18 kicking points with four field goals.
The win was Notre Dame's 23rd in a row at home – the nation's
second-longest streak – and the ninth in program history over an
AP-No. 1 team. As a one-year football member in 2020, the Irish
also ended Clemson's 28-game win streak against conference opponents,
which was the second-longest streak in ACC history.
Notre Dame travels to Boston College for an 3:30 p.m. ET game
Saturday on ABC.
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend
of Nov. 7 are:
• Indiana (3-0): The Hoosiers ended a 24-game
losing streak to Michigan with a 38-21 home win, dominating
almost every statistic including total yards (460-357), rushing
yards (118-13) and time of possession (39 minutes to 21), among
others. Indiana is off to a 3-0 start in Big Ten play for the
first time since 1998 – and only the fourth time in its history
– thanks in part to two interceptions against a Michigan team
that had not committed a turnover in its first two games. Indiana,
which last beat Michigan in 1987, has now won eight of its last
10 Big Ten games.
• Liberty (7-0): The No. 25 Flames parlayed
last week's first national ranking as an FBS program into a
second upset of an ACC foe this season, stealing a 38-35 win
at Virginia Tech when senior kicker Alex Barbir nailed a 51-yarder
with one second remaining. Barbir's career-long make punctuated
a wild final two minutes that had 17 points and a might-have-been
Hokies' game-winning touchdown return of a blocked field goal.
Liberty quarterback Malik Willis passed for 217 yards on a 20-for-30
day with three touchdowns and added a team-high 108 rushing
yards with another touchdown. Liberty, which also won at Syracuse
on Oct. 17, has won nine in a row.
• Maryland (2-1): The Terrapins beat Penn
State for just the third time in their 44-game series and the
first time since 2015 in a 35-19 road win. Quarterback Taulia
Tagovailoa completed 18 of 26 passes for 282 yards and three
touchdowns, two of them to Rakim Jarrett, who had five catches
for 144 yards. Linebacker Chance Campbell returned a fumble
recovery 44 yards in the third quarter to give Maryland a 35-7
lead and help push Penn State to 0-3 for the first time since
2001.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football.
The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key
executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas
that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.
For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson
at tiger@fwaa.com.
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