ACC football season preview 2020: Can Notre Dame knock off Clemson?
By Dante Pryor
ACC football champions: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
It would be very Notre Dame of Notre Dame to win the ACC outright and then continue their football independence next season. The Irish are a legitimate threat to Clemson in the ACC this season. They’ve recruited speed and are the second-best team in the conference.
North Carolina is a year away, Louisville and Florida State are two years away. If there is any team that can take advantage of any potential weaknesses in Clemson’s armor, it’s Notre Dame.
The Ross injury could prove significant with Tee Higgins in the NFL. Keep in mind, Clemson has only recruited at an elite level for the past two years. They are not as deep at receiver as they are in other places.
The Tigers lost a lot of talent from their defense. Isaiah Simmons, Tanner Muse, AJ Terrell, K’Von Wallace was among the NFL-caliber ability last season. This goes without saying at the Tigers have grown accustomed to losing talent to the league.
With the Irish part of the ACC, there is a team talented enough to capitalize on Clemson losing that much NFL talent.
The Irish lost their fair share of quality players as well. The Irish lost their top three receivers–two were drafted–and their top two pass rushers.
A lot of things have to go right for the Irish to win the ACC. First, they have to stay healthy. Ian Book, Drew White, Kyle Hamilton cannot miss time to injury. Their young talent has to play to form. Braden Lenzy has to play to his lofty expectations.
Chris Tyree’s ankle has to be 100%, and he has to snatch playing time from the veterans in front of him. The run defense has to be better than it was last season, and the secondary needs to be as dominant as it was last season.
A lot of things have to go right for the Irish to win the ACC this season. If things align, they could very well dethrone Clemson, even if it is for one season.
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