An appropriate addition to a historically pitiful start to the season sees the Tigers falling to the Syracuse Orange 34-21
Passionless offense, vulnerable defense, and absent intensity headlined today as Clemson continues their abysmal start to the season. Heading into this game, Dabo had never started 1-3, and Syracuse had never beaten Clemson in Death Valley. However, Dabo Swinney’s never coached a team quite like these Tigers, and the Orange were able to remain in control throughout the entirety of the game.
Before kickoff, a cheer echoed as Antonio Williams and Tristain Leigh were announced with the rest of the starting offense. Both missed week three with injuries, and came into today listed as probable.
Syracuse got the scoring started with a smooth eight play, 75 yard drive where the Orange never faced a third down. Quarterback Steve Angeli was shaken up on the drive, exciting briefly, but returned to complete a backshoulder fade to Justus Ross-Simmons for the score. The Orange rode the momentum for the entire first half, scoring on each of their first four possessions. With a surprise onside kick following the opening possession, Coach Fran Brown was able to give his team a two score lead before the Tigers offense stepped onto the field.
Clemson was able to switch momentum on their opening drive with a successful fullback dive to Peter Woods on 4th and short. The fan favorite defensive tackle earning an offensive touch got the previously frustrated crowd back into the game briefly. Clemson capitalized on the tone shift immediately with a stellar 38 yard bomb to Bryant Wesco Jr. for the Tigers first score of the day.
Syracuse dominated the next ten minutes, with a pair of touchdowns to elevate the lead to seventeen points. Clemson closed the 24-7 gap with a six yard touchdown reception from Adam Randle to head into the half trailing 24-14, but the Orange seemed to be in full control exciting the period.
While Clemson’s first half performance was able to effectively strip the energy out of the stadium, the weather delay physically removed the crowd. A two hour pause due to lightning in the area led to a 3:45pm second half kickoff. Seemingly less than forty percent of the initial attendees returned for the second half, and the Tigers made the stadium question their decision to return. Clemson failed to score in each of their four possessions in the third quarter, and wrapped up the period with an Adam Randle fumble to hand Syracuse the ball in the red zone. They wasted no time, and found Justus Ross-Simmons in the end zone for his second touchdown of the game. The pass was completed by Sophomore Rickie Collins, following a no contact injury from Angeli earlier in the quarter. The toss was the first touchdown of the young signal caller’s career. Angeli did not return to play for the remainder of the game, and was seen in crutches on the sideline throughout the fourth quarter.
Clemson was able to find the end zone midway through the fourth, with a completion to a wide open Bryant Wesco Jr. for his second score of the game. Wesco shined, with six receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Later in the game the defense was able to find their footing, holding Syracuse to ten points in the second half, but it was too little too late, and the offense wasn’t able to capitalize throughout the remainder of the match.
While the team did not play close to potential, there were still bright spots along the roster. Klubnik had arguably his best game of the season, going 37/60 for 363 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. Adam Randall seems to be finding his footing at the running back position, with 16 carries for 130 yards and a receiving touchdown. Moore shined with 8 catches for 92 yards, leading the team in receiving. On the defensive side of the ball, Sammy Brown continued to prove himself as one of the premier defensive players in the nation. He amassed eight tackles, a half tackle for loss, and swatted a pass at the line of scrimmage. With Tom Allen using Sammy both at the edge and Mike, Brown was able to be effective all over the field. While the team result was far from what one would hope for, there are still a multitude of impact players on this Tigers roster.
Nearly six hours after kickoff, Clemson exited the stadium 1-3 for the first time since 2004. The Tigers head into the bye week looking to clean up a multitude of errors, and will look to bounce back against Bill Belichick’s UNC squad in Chapel Hill on October 4th.
