The 2018 Cotton Bowl Classic got underway Saturday with all the fanfare worthy of a College Football Playoff game. Before the first snap had even occurred, the bald eagle used in the anthem ceremony landed on several fans while Jerry Jones made an appearance for the coin toss in front of the 72,183 fans in attendance. The Tigers ultimately had their way with the Irish, beating them by a score of 30-3. We take a look back at the Cotton Bowl Classic and examine the future, what was said, and what this game means.

The Recap

Clemson won the toss but elected to defer to the second half, giving Notre Dame the ball to start.

The Fighting Irish got things started off right with an 11-yard run by Dexter Williams before a false start and fumble stalled all momentum. Facing a third and 10 from their own 36, Ian Book made a running toss to Chase Claypool who dropped a surefire first down.

The Tigers took over possession on their own 14 after a Notre Dame punt but failed to muster any traction of their own. A short one-yard run and two incomplete passes forced a Clemson punt. The punt traveled 34 yards to give the Fighting Irish the ball back on the Clemson 49. They would promptly give it back as Book fumbled on the first play of the drive.

Clemson took advantage of the great possession, driving down the field with relative ease in route to the game’s first points. Greg Huegel connected on a 40-yard field goal to put the Tigers ahead, 3-0.

Fortunately for everyone in South Bend, Notre Dame seemed to wake up on the ensuing drive. After driving 66 yards in just over four minutes, Justin Yoon connected on a field goal of his own from 28 yards away to tie the game at three apiece.

The game would be a battle of wills with neither team gaining ground until a big swing sequence early in the second quarter. Head coach Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish decided to go for it on fourth down on the Clemson 34-yard line. They failed to convert and gave Clemson back the ball with field position and momentum. Three plays later Trevor Lawrence found Justyn Ross for a 52-yard touchdown throw. Notre Dame blocked the extra point attempt to keep things close at a score of 9-3.

Clemson looked to pull away after a Notre Dame three and out and was close to doing so before a big sack on Lawrence from Adetokunbo Ogundeji and a missed field goal from Huegel.

After another touchdown from Ross in the second quarter and the continued ineptitude of the Irish offense, things began to look bleak heading into halftime. The Tigers added insult to injury late in the half as they drove down the field to add another touchdown thanks to a deep connection between Lawrence and Tee Higgins. The teams headed to the break with Clemson leading by a score of 23-3.

Clemson took over possession to begin the second half but was quickly forced to punt. Notre Dame took over trailing by 20 with many in any attendance having already written them off. The Irish were able to drive into Clemson territory before being forced to punt the ball.

With just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Clemson finally got their signature big run play when Travis Etienne broke free up the middle for a 62-yard touchdown. The score all but ended the day and season for Notre Dame as they trailed by 27 with 17 minutes remaining.

The score would hold at 30-3 for the remainder of the evening, causing an abnormally bad second quarter to scar an otherwise great season.



What It Means

The outcome of the game pushes Clemson to 14-0 on the season while Notre Dame wraps up at 12-1. The Irish are now also 5-3-0 in Cotton Bowl history and 1-3-0 against the Tigers all-time.

While the national media will undoubtedly continue the narrative that the Irish did not belong, that simply was not and is not the case. Notre Dame played their worst game of the season while the Tigers were sound in nearly every aspect of the game. Look at the teams directly behind Notre Dame for further evidence of this. Oklahoma is likely getting throttled by the time you’re reading this while Ohio State got embarrassed by Music City Bowl victim, Purdue. Michigan is a disaster and Georgia couldn’t beat Alabama when they had them on the ropes.

The Fighting Irish may have wet the bed on Saturday but that does not mean they should be locked in the basement.



The Future

Notre Dame is slated to lose a lot of talent this offseason and that could be a problem heading into 2019. Players like Tyler Newsome, Jerry Tillery, Drue Tranquill, Sam Mustipher, Alize Mack, and Miles Boykin are all slated to depart South Bend. Brandon Wimbush has added his name to that list shortly before the Cotton Bowl when it was announced that he would transfer. Again, that’s a lot of talent to lose but the Irish do have some great players coming in.

Next season should see the introductions of a new crop of future playmakers with guys like Jack Kiser and Brendon Clark. Kiser was named Indiana Mr. Football this season after leading Pioneer High School to a second consecutive state title. Clark is a top 25 quarterback nationally for 2019 in both the pro-style and dual-threat rankings. They’re not only either as the class as a whole ranks 14th overall according to 247Sports.



What They Said

Notre Dame linebacker Te’von Coney on what was on his mind after the loss:

“A lot, you know. Just not knowing what’s next for me. But I just put my faith in God and believe in that everything happens for a reason. This is a tough loss. Just knowing how hard we worked to get to this point, you know. It just kills me inside to know that it just didn’t turn out in our favor. But you’ve got to move forward, have faith in God and keep going.”

Notre Dame safety Alohi Gilman on Clemson’s big plays:

“A combination of stuff, not being on the details like we should’ve, not executing our scheme on the details specifically. They got some momentum early, in the first half obviously. But second half obviously, I think that big run with Etienne was kind of a mental changer. They played really well. We didn’t make the plays that we were supposed to.”

Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins on the win:

“It is definitely special. All the work we put in, the leadership by the seniors and the vets on the team, the coaches, the staff. We put in so much work each and every day it is just special to be here. I’ve experienced a lot of success in my time here but it really never gets old. The challenge of trying to get back here every year is the most fun part. You face different adversities, you go up against different challenges, and each year is different and it is special each and every time because we try and find ways to get better, to challenge ourselves and to challenge our teammates. This is just another opportunity to compete in the National Championship and I am looking forward to next week.”

Wilkins continued:

“Notre Dame is a really good team. If you would have asked me at the beginning of the game how many points I thought we would give up, I definitely would not have said we would only give up three points. They are a very talented team, they have talent everywhere, 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 like we always do and we went out there to compete.”