Oct. 04--As David Robinson consoled his son Corey Robinson during an embrace outside the Notre Dame locker room Saturday night in the bowels of Memorial Stadium, the wide receiver's teammates standing nearby were left to wonder what could have been after a 24-22 loss to Clemson.
Chris Brown, the only South Carolina native on Notre Dame's roster, accused himself of unnecessary effort in his homecoming. He fumbled at Clemson's 4-yard line with 2 minutes, 9 seconds glowing on the clock in an eight-point game.
"Not being careful with the ball and that's what happens," Brown said. "I tried to do too much."
He almost had to, what after No. 6 Notre Dame (4-1) quickly fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter. After the Irish fumbled six times, three of which ended up in the hands of waiting Tigers.
A glimmer of hope for Notre Dame arrived when Torii Hunter caught a touchdown pass with seven seconds left to pull his team within two.
But that hope's final resting place was around the 3-yard line, where quarterback DeShone Kizer was tackled trying for two and a tie.
Senior linebacker and captain Joe Schmidt didn't try to mask his emotions. He, too, blamed himself and offered no excuses for losing to the No. 12 team in the country in their hostile territory as torrential rains poured down for four quarters.
"I'm mad," a visibly shaken Schmidt said. "I won't make any excuses about the elements or anything else."
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly came to the same conclusion as most others about his team's imperfect storm of turnovers against the Tigers (4-0).
"If they take care of the football they're gonna win the game, in my estimation," he said.
Notre Dame outgained the Tigers 437-296. A whopping 321 of those yards originated with Kizer's right arm, along with two touchdowns. Notre Dame had run for 200-plus yards in its last five games but managed just 116 Saturday, when heavy rains prompted President Barack Obama to declare a federal state of emergency in South Carolina.
Another score was born of Kizer's legs, when he disappeared into the end zone on a 3-yard run to make it 24-16 with 9:03 left.
But it wasn't nearly enough in the eyes of the Irish, who face David Robinson's alma mater, Navy, next weekend.
"We could have been so much better," Schmidt said. "I could have been so much better."
Schmidt wasn't being dishonest.
