SOUTH BEND, Ind. – When Clemson’s desperate attempt to convert on fourth-and-forever ended in a scrum, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book tossed his helmet as he sprinted onto the field to celebrate with teammates.
In seconds, thousands of fans joined in, rushing the field for a postgame party that most definitely did not meet the CDC’s social-distancing guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When fans stormed the field, it was fun,” Book said.
Kyren Williams put the Fighting Irish ahead with a 3-yard touchdown run in the second overtime, and No. 4 Notre Dame’s defense shut down top-ranked Clemson with a couple of sacks to seal a 47-40 win Saturday night.
The first victory over a No. 1 team in 27 years for the Irish can be added to the list of famous streakbusters in program history: Catholics versus Convicts in 1988 that snapped No. 1 Miami’s 36-game regular-season winning streak, and the shutout of Oklahoma in 1957 that broke the Sooners’s record 47-game roll.