Notre Dame vs. Clemson game balls: These six Irish stood out Saturday
The 35-14 upset Saturday over No. 4 Clemson provided plenty of candidates for Notre Dame who were deserving of a game ball. These six stood out.
Linebacker Prince Kollie
The Irish sophomore linebacker snagged a blocked punt in midair and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown for a 7-0 Notre Dame lead less than six-minutes into the first quarter. The play set the tone for a great Irish defensive night in a game they never trailed.
Cornerback Benjamin Morrison
The Irish freshman was the headliner on a stout Notre Dame defense. Morrison helped the Irish stretch their lead to 21-0 early in the fourth quarter after his first interception set up a 14-yard touchdown drive. As an encore, Morrison added a 96-yard interception return for touchdown on Clemson’s ensuing possession to make the score 28-0 and put this game out of reach.
Tailback Logan Diggs
The sophomore highlighted a dominating Irish running game that hit the nation’s seventh best rushing defense with 263 rushing yards. Diggs finished with 114 rushing yards on 17 carries with a 6.7 per-carry average.
Tailback Audric Estime
The sophomore nicely complemented Diggs, recording 18 carries for 104 yards with 1 touchdown. On a night when 76-percent of the Irish offense came from their ground game, Estime continued his season surge.
Linebacker JD Bertrand
The Irish senior anchored an Irish defense that held Clemson to only 90 rushing yards. Bertrand paced the Irish with 12 tackles and put the wraps on star Tigers running back Will Shipley, who was held to 63 rushing yards, 34 below his season average.
Tight end Michael Mayer
The Irish junior ended his night with 4 catches for 44 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown catch with 4:16 in the fourth quarter that gave him 16 scoring catches for his career, a new Irish record. The All-American now holds the trifecta of career receiving records for a Notre Dame tight end in catches, yards and touchdowns.
