By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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While Saturday will be a rare experience for Notre Dame, it will be a Clemson continuation.

Not only has Clemson won the last five ACC Championships, the Tigers have claimed the past three by a combined score of 142-30, outgaining Virginia, Pittsburgh and Miami by 1,369 yards to 800. Saturday’s pairing, a rematch between third-ranked Clemson and second-ranked Notre Dame, enters with a different framing and feel. The expectation is another classic, mirroring the 47-40 overtime thriller from back in November.

While the Fighting Irish may be the story of the year in the ACC, this weekend will, in some ways, be all about Clemson. The Tigers are the league flagbearer until someone else takes it; even if it’s just one team in the conference for just one year.

Though if may not seem like the ACC Championship Game will have another lopsided result, Clemson, even with a recent loss to Notre Dame, still enters the matchup with similar momentum to the three years prior. The Tigers have won their last two games by a total count of 97-17; their respective margins in the two outings before the 2019 and 2018 title games were 90-6 and 91-41. Clemson’s 97 points are its most in the final two games of the regular season of the Dabo Swinney era.

In the Tigers’ first opportunity back after their defeat in South Bend, Clemson scored 31 points against Pittsburgh — in the first quarter.

The opportunity to beat the team that recently beat them has to be one the Tigers are greatly looking forward to. And Clemson will get its chance on a stage, in the ACC Championship Game, where it has consistently been at its best. Charlotte has become a home away from home for the Tigers, fitting given that the Panthers played their first season in the NFL in Death Valley. A December trip east has become the program expectation.

While Saturday will be a rare experience for Notre Dame, it will be a Clemson continuation.

Almost certainly already in the College Football Playoff regardless of the outcome of the ACC Championship Game, the Fighting Irish have earned their way here, a route which includes a victory over the top-ranked Tigers. As Clemson prepares for another title game appeareance, however, it’s another example of more of the same.