1. Have fewer weather-related mistakes. With about five inches of rain forecasted for Saturday night, the playing conditions at Clemson’s Death Valley (which is a grass field) are likely to be atrocious. A slick ball, coupled with two aggressive defensive coordinators in Brent Venables and Brian VanGorder, could lead to fumbles that may not happen under otherwise dry conditions. The onus will be on DeShone Kizer, C.J. Prosise and Notre Dame’s wide receivers to hang on to the ball despite an inability to keep it dry. C.J. Sanders, who returned a punt for a touchdown last week against UMass, similarly will have to avoid any costly drops deep in Notre Dame territory.
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2. Make a few big plays. Notre Dame’s win over Oklahoma in 2012 was bookended by Cierre Wood’s 62-yard touchdown run and Everett Golson’s 50-yard bomb to Chris Brown, with the latter setting up a run of 17 unanswered points to deliver Brian Kelly his biggest win since coming to South Bend. There’s no better way to quiet a raucous crowd than with a big-chunk play — and the good news is Notre Dame has been awfully good at generating them this year. The Irish have already had 12 plays of 30 or more yards and six of 50 or more through four games.
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3. Pressure DeShaun Watson. Louisville coach Bobby Petrino — whose Cardinals are traveling to play in similarly-awful weather conditions at N.C. State this weekend — brought up an interesting point earlier this week: Rain can actually have an adverse affect on pass rushers more than it can have on quarterbacks. Facing a leaky Clemson offensive line, Sheldon Day & Co. should be able to get into the backfield unless the conditions are so bad they can’t confidently plant their feet and push to pressure Watson. If Notre Dame can drop Watson a few times or at least flush him out of the pocket (and keep contain on those plays), it could disrupt the Tigers’ offense enough to make this a winnable game for the No. 6 Irish.
Prediction: Clemson 20, Notre Dame 19