CLEMSON, S.C. — Sam Hartman wasn’t sure he would ever face Clemson again after his fourth loss as a starter and fifth overall to the Tigers while at Wake Forest a season ago.
Hartman gets a final chance to break that 0-5 blemish when he leads No. 12 Notre Dame into Death Valley on Saturday. Hartman said a victory is more an accomplishment for the Fighting Irish (7-2, No. 15 CFP), no matter what he’s endured against Clemson (4-4).
““I think I can look back at some point with my parents, who live in South Carolina and have a little bit of that glory” should Notre Dame win, said Hartman, who played his final high school season at Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mount Pleasant. “But it’s a huge, huge step for this program, this team and what we want to do at the end of the year.”
In Hartman’s early college days, he and the Demon Deacons were wildly overmatched against a Clemson team on the run of its life, losing his first three contests by a combined score of 152-19 from 2018-20 when the Tigers won three ACC crowns and the 2018 national title.
While Hartman’s performances improved, the results did not. He passed for 337 yards and a career-best six TDs in a drama filled, 51-45 overtime loss to Clemson at Wake Forest in 2022.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was sure he’d seen the last of Hartman after escaping Wake Forest with a win last year.
“I mean, he’s a pro,” Swinney said. “He is smooth, always. He’s very confident. He (doesn’t) flinch. And I’ve seen him for 10 years now. So I’ve got a real good understanding of who he is and a lot of respect for him.”
Notre Dame safety Ramon Henderson (11) recovers a fumbled ball in the end zone to score during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Pittsburgh Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. Credit: AP/Michael Caterina
CLEMSON FRUSTRATIONS
The Tigers, defending ACC champions, were picked this summer as favorites to win the title for an eighth time in nine seasons. Instead, Clemson…
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