Clemson loss doesn't shake Notre Dame's faith in offensive line

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame figured it would lean on its offensive line Saturday night at Death Valley. Instead, Clemson's front seven racked up nine tackles for a loss and limited Irish running back C.J. Prosise to just 50 yards on 15 carries.

That lack of a consistent run game was half of the reason why Notre Dame's offense didn't score a touchdown until the fourth quarter (a deluge of dropped passes is the other half). But upon further review, coach Brian Kelly didn't entirely blame the Irish offensive line for those ground game issues.

"I wouldn't put it all on the offensive line," Kelly said. "I think some of it contributed to it, but some of it, a little bit better coaching, a little bit better experience at the running back position -- I think all of those things together kind of equaled some of the TFLs."

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Prosise is in his first year as a running back and ran into a stiff challenge Saturday after racking up 600 yards in his first four games. He still found a way to contribute, catching four passes for 100 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown that sparked Notre Dame's frantic-but-unsuccessful rally in the final 15 minutes.

"We played this game a long time and you know you're not going to be able to rush for 200 yards every game," center Nick Martin said. "That's not reality."

Clemson sold out to stop the run by adding a defender to the box, who Notre Dame struggled to block on running plays. It proved to be an effective strategy, with cornerback MacKensie Alexander shutting down Will Fuller and Notre Dame's wide receivers leaving, according to Kelly, 125 yards on the field due to dropped passes.

This isn't to completely absolve Notre Dame's offensive line; Kelly pointed to a few false start penalties on right tackle Mike McGlinchey among the more egregious mistakes. Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson, too, told reporters after the game Notre Dame's offensive line had a tell when it was going to run or pass, though Kelly said he and his coaching staff didn't pick that up while watching the game live or on film.

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But as Notre Dame moves on to games against Navy and USC in which it may need to rely on its offense, it expects its offensive line to prove Clemson was an aberration instead of the start of a trend.

"You try to get the push every week," Martin said. "Some weeks are harder than others, no doubt about that. (It just so happens) if you have a down week, it doesn't prove who you are."

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