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Gimme Five: Looking back at Notre Dame's five-year regular-season ACC winning streak

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble•09/06/23•

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notre dame logan diggs
Former Notre Dame running back Logan Diggs celebrates a big gain vs. Clemson. (Photo by Chad Weaver/BGI)

While Notre Dame underperformed in 2022 against some teams it should typically beat — losses to Marshall and Stanford come to mind, as does a seven-point win over California — that decidedly did not happen against Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

The Irish extended their regular season winning streak against ACC opponents to 28 with victories over North Carolina, Syracuse, Clemson and Boston College. Notre Dame’s average margin of victory in its ACC slate was 23.8, which was its highest in at least five years and probably much longer. Even in 2012, when Notre Dame last made the national championship game, it beat four ACC opponents by an average of 23.5 points. 

Notre Dame’s closest game on its ACC slate in 2022 was a 45-32 win over UNC Sept. 24. An upstart Syracuse team was no problem Oct. 29. Clemson came to town Nov. 5 and was met with a field-storming, 35-14 upset win. Two weeks later, the Irish beat Boston College 44-0 amid a blizzard in the second half. 

The last time Notre Dame lost to an ACC team in the regular season was Nov. 11, 2017, when the Irish went to Miami and lost 41-8. Clemson has beaten the Irish twice in postseason play, once in the semifinals of the 2018 College Football Playoff and again in the 2020 ACC Championship Game. COVID forced Notre Dame to play a full ACC schedule and become a member in that latter season.

As part of its deal with the conference, Notre Dame must schedule five ACC teams each season. The Irish faced only four in 2022, so they added one for 2023. Notre Dame begins its ACC slate at 12:00 p.m. ET Saturday against North Carolina State at Carter-Nelson Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.. Games at Duke, at Louisville, versus Pitt, at Clemson and versus Wake Forest will follow.

Most assumed Clemson would be Notre Dame’s most difficult ACC opponent in 2023, but that might not be the case after what happened Monday night. Clemson entered Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. and made mistake after mistake, while Duke took advantage for a 28-7 win.

The Blue Devils, who went 9-4 in their first season under former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko in 2022, are a big part of what makes the 2023 ACC slate difficult for the Irish.

Notre Dame regular-season results vs. the ACC

  • 2022:  4-0 record, 23.8 average margin of victory
  • 2021:  5-0 record, 19.2 average margin of victory
  • 2020: 9-0 record, 17.1 average margin of victory
  • 2019: 5-0 record, 19.6 average margin of victory
  • 2018: 5-0 record, 23.6 average margin of victory

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