On This Date: 1979 (14)Clemson- 16 Notre Dame- 10

Nov 17, 2025, 9:34 AM

11/17/1979
South Bend, IN

No. 14 Clemson Bests Notre Dame In South Bend on Senior Day

Entering the 1979 season, Notre Dame had won two of the last six national titles, including 1977 with one of the most talented teams in history.

The Fighting Irish finished in the top 10 nationally 11 times in the 15-year period between 1964-78. It had won a bowl game six of the previous eight years, including four in what were considered “major bowls,” and was the seventh-winningest program in the 1970s.

Billy Lott put Clemson up for good with a 26 yard TD run off an Option Keeper in the 3rd QTR

Clemson was also playing Notre Dame on its Senior Day, and the Fighting Irish had lost on that special day just twice since 1940.

“One thing I remember about that game was our players being concerned in pregame that they couldn’t run on that tall rye grass,” Danny Ford said with a laugh. “Although we went to the stadium on Friday afternoon, we couldn’t get on the field to work out and run on it. So we didn’t know how slippery the grass was until pregame. I remember just about everyone changing shoes in the locker room before the game.

Sloppy play by Clemson gave the Irish a 10-0 advantage at halftime, but the Tiger Defense clamped down and Clemson dominated the 3rd QTR, scoring 3 times to take a 13-10 lead into the 4th.

There were some tenuous moments over the game’s final minutes, but the Tiger defense came up big every time. A redshirt freshman named Terry Kinard had two interceptions in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers controlled the clock for over 21 minutes in the second half with a consistent running game. Clemson ran the ball 74 times on the day, still the most by an opponent in Notre Dame Stadium history.