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Welcome to the ACC Championship game, Notre Dame.
We hope you enjoyed your stay in Charlotte, and your first visit to this game at Bank of America Stadium.
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Six weeks after a short-handed Clemson team fell just short under the golden dome in front of all that history, Notre Dame got a lesson in what the Tigers' ACC mystique is all about in a 34-10 undressing.
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COVID-16 was just No. 16 this time, and he wore pads and everything.
James Skalski was back, as he reminded the Irish at every turn.
Those clean pockets Ian Book was able to step into at Notre Dame Stadium were non-existent thanks largely to Tyler Davis, who also wasn't on the field in South Bend.
Bottom line, this is Clemson's house and it is Clemson's time.
Six straight ACC titles, six straight trips to the playoff.
Never gets old, does it?
Notre Dame might've made a major statement on Nov. 7, but Brian Kelly and the Irish walked off the field Saturday night feeling a lot like they did two years ago at Jerry World.
Like they still have a long way to go.
If the Irish weren't all that interested in becoming a permanent member of the ACC before this beatdown, it's hard to imagine them taking to the idea now.
This full-stop demolishing of the ACC's part-time occupant reinforced the fact that you still have to get through the big orange bully on the block. And boy, is that a murderous task.
On Nov. 7, Notre Dame out-rushed Clemson 208-34 and that said everything.
On Dec. 19, Clemson out-rushed Notre Dame 219-44 and that said everything.
Well, almost everything. Because Trevor Lawrence had a day throwing the ball, too, amassing 322 yards on a 25-of-36 clip with two touchdowns and a tipped-ball interception early.
Lawrence also showed just how much it means to have a feared running threat at quarterback, as he ran for 90 yards on 14 carries to help open things up for Travis Etienne.
Etienne had 28 yards on 18 carries at Notre Dame and entered this game on a six-game streak of sub-100-yard rushing games. He had 124 yards on 10 carries, including a 44-yard touchdown run with 21 seconds left in the first half that made the score 24-3 and left almost no doubt as to the direction this game was going.
The day before, Kelly and Dabo Swinney went off on the idea that the Rose Bowl should be played in front of an empty stadium and without even parents of players.
By the time halftime came Saturday, after Clemson overwhelmed the Irish with a 228-50 yardage advantage in the second quarter, the parents of Notre Dame's players were covering their eyes.
Book ran wild in the regular-season showdown, but ran into white jerseys in the rematch. The Tigers sacked him six times, and the Irish finished with 263 yards on 58 plays.
This was a Top 5 showdown, but in the end it felt a lot like some other recent ACC championship games. Miami was supposed to be good three years ago too, and its discarded turnover chains are probably still being found across Charlotte.
A double-overtime loss in South Bend hurt, but this Clemson team will always take comfort in knowing it flexed its muscles against the Irish when it mattered most.
And if this defeat cost the Irish a spot in the playoff? The events of Nov. 7 will become but a footnote that Clemson fans can laugh at as they watch the Irish play in some other bowl while the Tigers pursue another national title.
Notre Dame's stint as a full ACC football member was temporary.
Clemson's stint as the conference's kingpin is permanent.
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