Because Notre Dame is the only major team not in a conference, the strength of its opponents varies substantially from year to year. This season’s squad faced one major test, defeating Michigan at home in September, but had a relatively light schedule over all.

Clemson was so dominant this season, though — its average scoring margin of 30.9 entering Saturday’s game was second only to Alabama’s — and so impressive on Saturday that it might be just as easy to argue that virtually no team could have looked better versus Clemson.

Clemson’s experienced defensive line bottled up Dexter Williams, Notre Dame’s senior running back, who finished with just 54 yards on 16 carries. The Tigers’ secondary harried the Irish receivers, and quarterback Ian Book was 17-for-34 passing with 160 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He also lost a fumble on a strip sack by the redshirt junior lineman Clelin Ferrell that led to the game’s first points, a Clemson field goal midway through the first quarter.

“They are a very talented team, they have talent everywhere,” Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said afterward of Notre Dame, “and we definitely have a lot of respect for them and their coaching staff. We just prepared the right way and had fun out there.”