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Upon further review, the ruling of Clemson as the top team in the land has been overturned.
This game might go down among the classics for college football fans. It certainly ranks up there in Notre Dame lore, with those storied upsets of Florida State and Miami from decades ago.
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From the Clemson corner, though? For now and forever, the preference will be to burn any and all evidence that Notre Dame 47, Clemson 40 ever existed.
Yeah, you can say this Tigers team came in short-handed and we all should've known they'd be in a dogfight. That's absolutely true.
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You can say there's so much to be excited about for the long-term when Trevor Lawrence can stand on the sideline wearing a mask while another freshman quarterback wearing a helmet makes a compelling case that he could start in NFL games right now.
You can also say that a full-strength Clemson will be in position to right this wrong in the ACC championship and make this but a footnote in another glorious march to the College Football Playoff.
But here in the moment, this program is not at a point where it looks back and marvels at what a great Top 5 matchup that was.
Not when it let the Irish zip 91 yards in eight plays for the game-tying touchdown in regulation.
Not when the offense, before that, had a chance to ice the game with a first down and went backwards while consuming just 22 seconds of clock.
Nah, man. This one stings and even sickens.
D.J. Uiagalelei showed he's plenty good enough to lead the Tigers into the shadow of the Golden Dome and play like a superstar, with some help from Cornell Powell and Amari Rodgers.
After leading Clemson from an 18-point deficit to a victory over Boston College in his first college start, the California kid took it to another level by calmly throwing for 439 yards and two touchdowns on a 29-of-44 clip as the Tigers surmounted a 13-point deficit in South Bend.
Six of his throws were to Powell, who had 161 yards receiving.
Eight of his throws were to Rodgers, who had 134.
Once Travis Etienne plunged in from 3-yards out with 3:33 left to put Clemson up 33-26, capping a 12-play, 74-yard drive that consumed almost six minutes, the die seemed cast on this game:
D.J. was the show, the sensation, the story. He was Clemson's next generational quarterback who was giving a national television audience a preview of what's to come once No. 16 departs.
But then a wobbly defense, which had found its bearings and was within a whisker of landing the knockout stop, gave Notre Dame an opening. After Nolan Turner left with an injury, Ray Thornton was juked by slot man Avery Davis and Ian Book found him for a 53-yard gain to the Clemson 4.
Book found Davis again for a score on third-and-goal from the 4, and the extra point tied it at 33.
Uiagalelei found Powell for 24 yards to the goal line on the first play, and then the quarterback took it in himself on the next play to make it seem like things were going to continue to be easy and the Tigers were going to get out of Notre Dame Stadium with a win that was harder than it should've been.
But everything thereafter was a bit of a blur.
Notre Dame scored, and then scored again.
But you figured D.J. and Clemson would be able to hold serve.
Until Clemson's offensive line couldn't hold up.
Uiagalelei was sacked on first down. And then on second down, the Tigers seemed to have the perfect play drawn up with Davis Allen sneaking behind Notre Dame's defense down the seam.
He was open. All Uiagalelei needed was a little time.
He didn't get it.
Daelin Hayes ripped past Cade Stewart and smothered Uiagalelei for another sack.
The Irish broke up a pass to Allen on third down.
On fourth-and-24, a prayer of a pass-and-lateral didn't work.
As a sea of green-clad students enveloped the field, Clemson's players and coaches had to wait to enter the corridor to their locker room.
They were probably trying to figure out what in the hell just happened.
We all are.
Yeah, this team is injured and young and this game is one to grow on and all that.
But it's ultimately one to stew on.
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