Notre Dame vs. Clemson: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

The No. 12 Clemson Tigers won ugly on a rainy, windy Saturday night inside Memorial Stadium, upsetting the sixth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 24-22.

Clemson (4-0) held strong on Notre Dame's (4-1) two-point attempt that would've tied the game with seven seconds left. Following Torii Hunter Jr.'s one-yard touchdown reception, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly opted for a quarterback keeper with DeShone Kizer, which the Tigers defense stuffed.

CBS Sports' Will Brinson was disappointed with the final play call:

Kizer was both Notre Dame's leading passer and leading rusher. He threw for 321 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 19-of-34 passing while rushing for 60 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

Clemson did a great job of limiting running back C.J. Prosise, who had 60 yards on the ground but did hit the century mark in receiving.

The Tigers needed every bit they could get defensively since the offense gained just 296 total yards. Quarterback Deshaun Watson was 11-of-22 for 97 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He nearly eclipsed his passing numbers with his rushing yards (93).

Wayne Gallman's steady contributions proved to be invaluable for Clemson as he carried the ball 22 times for 98 yards. When the Tigers needed to eat time in the second half, they knew they could give the ball to their sophomore running back.

Although he played in Notre Dame's 30-22 win over Georgia Tech, this was the biggest test for Kizer since he replaced Malik Zaire at quarterback. Clemson, South Carolina, is a difficult enough atmosphere for even experienced quarterbacks; Kizer was making just the third start of his college career.

Despite Kizer's relative inexperience, Kelly remained confident the sophomore would acquit himself well under center.

"I would be surprised if the moment was too big for him," Kelly said, per JJ Stankevitz of CSNChicago.com. "I'm sure, like everybody else, there will be those butterflies and some nervousness, but I think, once we get into the flow of the game, he's going to be fine."

While Kizer wasn't a disaster under center—he arguably outplayed Watson—this was the worst of his performances so far.

Granted, Kizer and the Notre Dame offense didn't get a lot of help early from the defense, as Clemson scored touchdowns on both of its possessions to start the game.

In a sign of things to come, the Tigers relied heavily on the run, getting 49 of 61 yards on the opening drive via the ground game. Watson found tight end Jordan Leggett in the flat for a six-yard touchdown to help put the home team up 7-0 two minutes, 41 seconds into the game, as shown by ESPN College Football:

ESPN's Marty Smith thought the amount of time Clemson had to prepare for this contest was evident in the opening drive:

Watson then picked up his second passing touchdown of the night after he connected with Artavis Scott on a 13-yard strike. Scott bounced off two tacklers en route to the end zone:

That was largely the extent of Clemson's offensive output for the remainder of the half, which opened the door for Notre Dame to attempt a comeback.

Unfortunately for the Fighting Irish, their offense was suffering similar issues. Kizer looked timid through the first two quarters, which had a lot to do with the Clemson pass rush. According to Pete Sampson of IrishIllustrated.com, Tigers defensive end Shaq Lawson had 3.5 tackles for loss in the first quarter alone.

Justin Yoon's 46-yard field goal with 5:37 left in the first quarter was the only dent Notre Dame could make on the scoreboard in the first half as Clemson took a 14-3 lead into the locker room.

It looked as though a pair of fumbles to open the second half doomed the Fighting Irish to defeat.

First, return man C.J. Sanders lost possession of the ball after taking a big hit from Clemson kicker Ammon Lakip. ESPN's Robert Flores joked Lakip has been getting tips from former WWE Superstar Edge, given his form on the tackle:

C.J. Fuller recovered the fumble, giving the Tigers great field position at the Notre Dame 29-yard line, and Watson needed just three plays before scoring on a 21-yard touchdown run. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller was surprised to see the normally reliable Jaylon Smith unable to corral Watson before he could get into open space:

On the first play from scrimmage on Notre Dame's next possession, Prosise fumbled on his own 40-yard line, and Ben Boulware recovered for the Tigers. ESPN's Bomani Jones couldn't believe Kelly maintained his composure on the sidelines following back-to-back turnovers:

The future looked bleak for the Fighting Irish, but they slowly worked their way back into the game, eventually closing the gap to eight points in the fourth quarter.

Prosise and Kizer hooked up for a 56-yard touchdown pass with 14:21 left in the game to put six points on the board for Notre Dame. Kelly decided to go for the two-point conversion, which failed, so his team was down by 12 points, 21-9.

Greg Huegel provided a buffer for Clemson after hitting a 35-yard field goal, but Kizer responded 1:53 later with a three-yard touchdown run. Sampson liked the way Kizer incrementally improved as the game went on:

As Notre Dame was on the precipice of tying the contest, the turnover bug bit the team twice more.

First, Kizer threw an interception at his own 35-yard line. Fortunately for Notre Dame, Huegel missed his field-goal attempt to keep the difference at eight points, 24-16.

Then the Irish worked the ball all the way down to the Clemson 12-yard line to set up a 1st-and-10. On second down, Chris Brown caught a pass and looked for six points. Before he could reach the goal line, though, he coughed up the ball, and Clemson recovered.

Despite doing everything it could to lose, Notre Dame nearly pulled off the improbable comeback. Many will second-guess Kelly's decision to run on that fateful two-point attempt. Given the way Clemson had defended the run all night, a pass might have been the best option.

The Fighting Irish's hopes of cracking the College Football Playoff aren't gone yet. They still have USC and Stanford on their schedule, so winning out might be enough for Notre Dame to get into the top four if the teams above it slip up as well.

Clemson, on the other hand, is firmly in control of its own destiny, and USA Today's Dan Wolken believes the Tigers might have cleared their biggest hurdle already:

They'll still play Florida State on Nov. 7 and have the ACC title game, should they reach that stage, both of which will be tricky matchups.

Given Clemson's penchant for shooting itself in the foot in the past, it may be premature to start anointing the Tigers as the ACC's top playoff contender, though.