Arlington, TX -- The stage Notre Dame wanted, but clearly not the result.

With a final 30-3 score, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell to the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff Semifinals, handing the Irish their first loss this season. 

"It's hard losing in a semifinal game when you give it all you got. It's taken all season for us to get here and just one game to wipe it out like that," Notre Dame Wide Receiver Miles Boykin said.

Despite playing even in the first quarter, Clemson scored 27 straight points to earn another trip to the National Championship, celebrating in the confetti the Irish hoped would be blue and gold.

"We just wanted to get it done. This whole year, I'm thankful for the way our defense played. They gave us the ball back so many times this season. When they do that, it's our job to put points on the board on offense and we didn't do that tonight," Notre Dame Quarterback Ian Book said.

"I left that game feeling like there was so much work to be done inside and out. They were the better team today, there's no doubt about it," Head Coach Brian Kelly said. "But we can come back here and win, so it's a real different feeling to me."