ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Notre Dame missed out on a big early game-turning play by the very nose of the football. The Fighting Irish…
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Notre Dame missed out on a big early game-turning play by the very nose of the football. The Fighting Irish defense missed having All-America cornerback Julian Love on the field when Clemson took over the Cotton Bowl.
When the third-ranked Irish needed just about everything to go perfect, their national championship drought instead stretched to three decades after another big postseason loss.
« With how much preparation we’ve put into this process, and know the players that we have on both sides of the ball, I couldn’t ever imagine us coming out here and the outcome being this, » linebacker Te’von Coney said.
No. 2 Clemson took control when freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdowns in the second quarter, two of them to receivers covered by backup cornerback Donte Vaughn while Love was being evaluated for a possible concussion, and the Tigers went on to a 30-3 victory Saturday in the national semifinal game.
« He didn’t pass part of his protocol, which was memory, » coach Brian Kelly said about Love, who returned to the game after being re-evaluated by doctors at halftime.
« It’s hurting me internally because I obviously wanted to be out there. I wanted to help our team, » Love said.
