Notre Dame vs. Clemson score, takeaways: Tigers upset No. 15 Fighting Irish to pick up much-needed win

Clemson snapped its losing skid while picking up one of the more impressive victories of the year by any team

No. 15 Notre Dame fell behind early and never recovered in a 31-23 loss at Clemson that provides a spark of optimism in the midst of a difficult season. The Tigers took charge of the game with big defensive stands in the red zone and a pair of interceptions, while the offense was mostly powered by a huge day from running back Phil Mafah, who finished with 36 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns.  

Mafah's ascension to the starting job in the backfield comes as star Will Shipley was ruled out prior to kickoff due to a concussion suffered in last week's loss to NC State. Shipley was not the only significant injury issue hovering over the Tigers offense, however, as starting guard Marcus Tate was also a late scratch prior to kickoff. But while the offense was a mix-and-match grab bag of personnel, it was able to establish the line of scrimmage to get Mafah going in the first half to build an 18-point advantage. 

Defending that advantage late in the second half came down to a defense that absolutely answered the call. After Notre Dame cut the lead to 31-23 midway through the third quarter, the Fighting Irish did not even cross midfield on any of their final six possessions of the game. 

• Dabo Swinney elaborated on Clemson's depth issues after the game, telling the broadcast they had "10 or 11 starters out" by the end. 
• Swinney is now 1-1 against Marcus Freeman after losing at Notre Dame when Clemson was 8-0 and No. 5 in the country. He was 3-1 against Brian Kelly with a victory in the College Football Playoff semfinals and another in the 2020 ACC Championship Game. 
• For Notre Dame, the loss is going to hurt their standing in the College Football Playoff Rankings, and in doing so decrease the chances the Fighting Irish are going to be able to make it to a New Year's Six bowl game. 
• Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was the star of the day for the defense with 11 tackles, two sacks and a pick six.  
• Swinney passed Frank Howard as the winningest head coach in Clemson history (166 wins). 

CBS Sports was with you throughout the game bringing you live updates and highlights. Read on below for takeaways as the Tigers picked up a much-needed upset win over the Fighting Irish. 

[Nov 4, 2023 at 3:38 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

The Clemson football family needed a win like this

Dabo's testy exchange with a caller on his radio show was reflective of the tense atmosphere around this Clemson program, and winning was going to be the only way out of the discomfort. It had been a long time -- more than a decade to be specific -- since Clemson had spent November hovering around .500 rather than competing for conference and national championships. Of all the games on the November schedule for the Tigers, the one opponent who could bring back the spark of high-level success is Notre Dame. Beating Georgia Tech, North Carolina or even rival South Carolina won't generate the buzz that taking down the top-15 Fighting Irish could. After falling short against some of the best teams on the schedule — including painfully short against Florida State — this was a chance to validate Clemson's quality beyond close losses. 

[Nov 4, 2023 at 4:05 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Impact on Notre Dame's rankings and bowl future  

The College Football Playoff selection committee was lower on Notre Dame than the AP Top 25 poll, which had the Fighting Irish up at No. 12 prior to Saturday's game. Notre Dame has wins against USC and Duke and while its two-loss profile still held some weight as those two defeats were to Ohio State and Louisville. As crazy as it sounds on the surface, Notre Dame now has a "bad loss" for rankings purposes after the defeat to Clemson. Dropping from No. 15 all the way out of the CFP rankings or AP Top 25 would be a dramatic response to one late-season result on the road, but I think it's fair to predict this will be a team that is going to occupy one of the spots in the 20s of most top 25 rankings. That's particularly significant on the CFP side as the Fighting Irish needed to climb up inside the top 10 in order to have a good shot at a New Year's Six bowl game and now that will be an uphill battle with only Wake Forest and Stanford left on the schedule. If Notre Dame had won and stayed inside the top 15, then there was a potential to continue a climb up as other teams lost. Now wherever the Fighting Irish land will likely be the team's rankings ceiling for the rest of the season, as the remaining schedule doesn't provide opportunities for big moves up. 

[Nov 4, 2023 at 4:00 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Sam Hartman falls to 0-5 vs. Clemson 

Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman faced Clemson four times as a starter at Wake Forest, failing to defeat the Tigers but coming awfully close in a 51-45 shootout last season. And while the eight-point margin here is also one of the closer results from Hartman's career against the Tigers, his performance is far from his standard as the Fighting Irish starter. Hartman entered the game averaging 236.2 passing yards per game at 9.3 yards per attempt with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions, so it was somewhat alarming to see the pass game struggle like it did against admittedly a very strong Clemson defense. Hartman completed less than 50% of his passes for 146 yards at 4.9 yards per attempt with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Notre Dame's receivers weren't able to get separation against Clemson's defensive backs, and with the exception of one long catch-and-run by Rico Flores, there wasn't much in the way of explosive plays. 

[Nov 4, 2023 at 3:46 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Field position was a huge factor in the second half 

Clemson's offense was not overwhelmingly effective as it was outgained by Notre Dame both overall (329-285) and on a per-play basis (5.4-to-4.1). Phil Mafah's performance was clearly the highlight, but what Clemson as a team was able to do was establish and maintain a field-position advantage for key possessions in the second half. Notre Dame had five straight possessions in the second half that started by being pinned inside their own 15-yard line by Clemson's special teams. The way that the Tigers' defense was getting pressure on Sam Hartman and winning third downs made it difficult for anything explosive to develop for Notre Dame, and knowing that allowed Clemson to continue to lean on its defense and field position to close out the win. 

[Nov 4, 2023 at 2:39 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Nail-biter heading into the 4th quarter

End 3Q: Clemson 31, Notre Dame 23 

As Notre Dame drives for a potential score that could cut into the lead or tie the game, the third quarter wraps with Clemson still leading by eight points. The Fighting Irish have been able to avoid some bad breaks, including an offensive pass interference call on third down, to still have a shot to win here in the final 15 minutes. The stakes for Notre Dame include an in-road to a New Year's Six bowl game while 4-4 Clemson is looking to avoid falling below .500 in November for the first time in more than a decade. A win would go a long way for the Tigers, as their 2023 campaign is also littered with late-game failures and to come out on the winning side would be a much-needed reversal of fortune. 

[Nov 4, 2023 at 2:21 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Sam Hartman getting it done with his legs 

3Q: Clemson 31, Notre Dame 23

After getting the ball into Clemson territory on a long passing play to Rico Flores, Sam Hartman breaks off his second long run of the day with a 26-yard touchdown scamper to cut the lead back to eight points. The passing game has not been particularly effective for Notre Dame today so far, but Hartman has been able to make Clemson pay in big spots with his ability to run. 

[Nov 4, 2023 at 2:10 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Clemson strikes back! 

3Q: Clemson 31, Notre Dame 16

Cade Klubnik gets credit from Clemson's coaches for being able to move past mistakes, and that certainly appeared to be the case after the interception to open the second half. Klubnik led the Tigers 75 yards down the field over 11 plays, with two third down conversions including the touchdown run by Phil Mafah. With Will Shipley out due to a concussion it's been a heavy dose of Mafah for the Clemson offense, with the running back now at 128 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns on the day. 

[Nov 4, 2023 at 2:00 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Phenomenal second half start for Notre Dame 

3Q: Clemson 24, Notre Dame 16

Facing 3rd down on the first possession of the second half, Cade Klubnik's pass to Beaux Collins is broken up and deflected into the hands of Notre Dame's star defensive back Xavier Watts. The interception return by Watts sets up the offense at the two-yard line and Audric Estime wasted no time punching in the score to cut Clemson's lead to eight points. It's Estime's 13th rushing touchdown of the season, and puts Notre Dame right back into the game while applying more pressure on Clemson's injury-riddled offense to deliver a long scoring drive. 

[Nov 4, 2023 at 1:38 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

HALFTIME: Clemson 24, Notre Dame 9

After a week that included Dabo Swinney's back-and-forth with a disappointed fan and more injury setbacks for Clemson's offense, the Tigers have ended up in the best possible spot against No. 15 Notre Dame after 30 minutes. The Tigers' 15-point lead comes thanks to huge defensive stops when Notre Dame was in scoring position as well as a pick six and a fumbled punt. Sam Hartman and the Fighting Irish offense have out-gained Clemson (187-164) but the failures to finish drives in the end zone have created the largest halftime deficit of the season. The stars so far have been the running backs with both Notre Dame's Audric Estime (14 carries, 82 yards) and Clemson's Phil Mafah (11 carries, 87 yards, one touchdown) topping 80 yards in the half.