Notre Dame may have felt confident about its chances of making the College Football Playoff before the ACC championship game on Saturday.After a 34-10 demolition at the hands of Clemson, however, the Irish may be anything but confident now that their fate is in the hands of the selection committee.MORE: It appeared at first as if the Irish would play the Tigers tough; they kicked a 51-yard field goal on their opening drive and picked off quarterback Trevor Lawrence (who mi sed the first game with COVID-19) on the Tigers’ ensuing po se sion. Notre Dame mi sed a gimme 23-yard field goal try, however, and it was all downhill from there.The Tigers took full advantage with Lawrence back in the fold: On the Tigers’ next drive, he connected with Amari Rodgers for a 67-yard touchdown. Clemson followed with 17 second-quarter Taylor Decker Jersey points (a 33-yard E.J. Williams touchdown reception and a 44-yard yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne). The defense was incredible as well, hurrying and harrying Ian Book all night. He finished with 20-of-28 pa sing for 219 yards but was also sacked six times.A 34-yard Lawrence touchdown run in the third quarter all but ended it, but a Chris Tyree 21-yard score for Notre Dame may not have been insignificant. If the committee thinks Notre Dame’s 24-point blowout lo s is better than Texas A&M’s 52-24 blowout lo s to Alabama, then the Irish could still sneak into the Playoff.Unfortunately for Brian Kelly and Co., they would have much preferred to be able to set the terms of that decision.Sporting News tracked live scoring updates and highlights from . Check out the complete results from the 2020 ACC championship game:Notre Dame vs. Clemson scoreQ1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FinalClemson 7177334Notre Dame 300710Notre Dame vs. Clemson live updates, highlightsAll times EasternFinal: Clemson 34, Notre Dame 107:19 p.m.: One last play for Clemson, and that does it. Final: Clemson 34, Notre Dame 10.7:17 p.m.: Book can’t escape Clemson’s sixth sack of the game on third-and-16. The latest one, for 10 yards, comes from freshman linebacker Trenton Simpson. It’s now fourth-and-26 from the Notre Dame 35.7:15 p.m.: Book connects with Mayer on a 10-yard gain to the Clemson 49. That’s a first down.7:15 p.m.: Notre Dame, by the way, still driving. It faces third-and-8 from its 41.7:14 p.m.: Timeout, Clemson (2:24).7:12 p.m.: Book’s still in for Notre Dame; the Irish desperately need a touchdown here to make this score respectable. Fans of one-lo s Texas A&M are watching this drive with intense Alex Anzalone Jersey interest.7:11 p.m.: Clemson, meanwhile, punts the ball back to Notre Dame. They give the Irish the ball back at their 7 with just over four minutes left in the game.7:09 p.m.: And that will do it for Lawrence, who leaves the field with about five minutes left in the game. He’ll finish the day completing 25 of 36 pa ses for 322 yards and two touchdowns to one interception. He also rushed 14 times for 90 yards and another score.7:08 p.m.: Timeout, Clemson (5:08).7:06 p.m.: Lawrence avoids the pre sure on third-and-9 and throws to Cornell Powell for a 26-yard gain out to Notre Dame’s 48.7 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN, NOTRE DAME. Chris Tyree gets the first touchdown for Notre Dame in this ACC championship game, bouncing the ball out for a not-insignificant 21-yard score. That makes it 34-10 Clemson with 8:09 left to play.Chris Tyree with a 21-yard rushing touchdown late in the 4th. Justin Groc (@jgroc) 6:58 p.m.: And it’s confirmed. Turner’s out for the rest of this game and the first half the Clemson semifinal.6:56 p.m.: Uh-oh. Clemson safety Nolan Turner is called for targeting, causing defensive coordinator Brent Venables to fall to his knees; if the call is confirmed, he will be unavailable for the Tigers’ semifinal game.6:51 p.m.: Notre Dame is acro s midfield for the first time in what seems like forever after a 12-yard, first-down connection to Skowronek. Irish driving at the Clemson 43.6:50 pm: Clemson is called for pa s interference on the third-down play, giving Notre Dame a fresh set of downs at its 45.6:49 p.m.: Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams nearly gives the ball back to Clemson on a fumble, but jumps on it to recover. Notre Dame faces third-and-5 from its 30.6:45 p.m.: FIELD GOAL, CLEMSON. And Potter’s 2 for 2 on the day after hitting the 37-yarder. That makes it 34-3 Clemson with 10:31 left in the game.6:44 p.m.: Notre Dame is ready for Clemson’s shuffle pa s and snuff it out at the 20. That makes it fourth-and-8, bringing on the Clemson field goal team.6:42 p.m.: Lawrence avoids two blitzing Dick LeBeau Jersey backers and finds running back Chez Mellusi on the screen. That connection goes 23 yards to the Notre Dame 23.6:36 p.m.: Two 10-yard completions get Clemson a first down at midfield.End of third quarter: Clemson 31, Notre Dame 36:31 p.m.: Tigers are taking it to the fourth quarter, facing first-and-10 at their 30.6:28 p.m.: Tigers to take over at their 14. Another score here wouldn’t matter much game-wise, but could be enough to persuade the College Football Playoff committee to drop Notre Dame from the discu sion. The Irish aren’t just playing for pride here.6:27 p.m.: Notre Dame converts a fourth-and-6 from Clemson’s 40, but a holding call negates the conversion. Punt team should come on now.6:25 p.m.: Credit to Book: He’s not giving up. He hits Skowronek for 16 yards; coupled with a personal foul, Notre Dame has a first down at Clemson’s 44.6:21 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN, CLEMSON. One play later, Lawrence takes the keeper and runs 34 yards for the touchdown. That makes it 31-3 Clemson with 3:43 left in the third quarter. This one’s pretty much done.6:20 p.m.: And that 9-yard scamper by Etienne gives him more than 100 for the day, his 20th such game in the triple digits.6:18 p.m.: Another nice run Ifeatu Melifonwu Jersey by Etienne goes for 17 yards to the Notre Dame 43.6:13 p.m.: Oh, my, E.J. Williams. The Notre Dame defense stood to get off the field on third down, but Lawrence threw a perfect ball to the freshman receiver, who one-handed the ball for an incredible third-down conversion to the 40.Oh. My. GOODNESS E.J. WILLIAMS!!! | : ACC Football (@ACCFootball) 6:11 p.m.: Seems Swinney took that timeout to give officials time to see whether Skowronek could be ejected for targeting. No such luck; the Tigers have it at their 17 after the pu
