Written by Erik Slaby
Clemson, SC- On a cool, fall afternoon here at Memorial Stadium, or more commonly known as Death Valley, the nationally ranked 2nd Clemson University Tigers defeated the Syracuse University Orange, 54-0. This win now gives Clemson a 9-0 record and a 6-0 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. With this victory, Clemson is still in control of their destiny and remain on the path to reach the College Football Playoff. It was a dominating win by Clemson, but it may have been closer, had a Syracuse player not gotten injured early on in the game.
Midway through the first quarter, Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey ran for a short gain and was hit hard and sandwiched by two Clemson defenders. He was laid out on the field for a while before he was helped off the field by the medical staff. He would not return in the game and his backup, Austin Wilson played the rest of the game. Dungey is a dynamic quarterback, so the game may have been a bit closer had he not gotten injured, but given the way Clemson was playing, they still probably would’ve won.
In this game, Clemson was able to get a look at a lot of the players deep on their depth chart and get them valuable playing time and experience. Because they were up 30-0 at halftime, Clemson felt comfortable about playing them. In the end, Clemson played 85 players on their roster. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke after the game about the number of guys they played.
“It was nice to have a game where we could have some fun and get a bunch of guys in the game and get some guys some experience,” Swinney stated. “We played a lot of guys. Most everyone who’s not redshirting, for the most part, you know was able to get in the game today. And that always fun. It’s a little stressful in those situations,” Swinney said with a smile, “in the fourth quarter because you’re trying to make sure you’ve got 11, (players on the field) everybody knows what to do, but it’s a great reward for a lot of those guys to get an opportunity to go play.”
A small issue did arise before halftime though as Clemson’s starting quarterback Deshaun Watson did not play the last series of the first half, or the entire second half. It was later revealed that Watson had bruised his shoulder but could’ve came back in the game if he was needed.
When asked after the game why Watson didn’t play anymore, Swinney, deadpanned, said “because it was 30 to nothing and we had control of the game and we weren’t gonna bring that bruised shoulder… we weren’t gonna put him back out there and take a chance. But he was ready. If we needed him and if we got in a bind.”
Offensively, Clemson was led by quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Nick Schuessler. Watson completed 13 of 16 passes, for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Schuessler completed 11 of 17 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. This was the first time in school history that two quarterbacks each passed for over 160 yards in a game. The receiving group was led by wide receivers Mike Williams, who had six catches for 106 yards and one touchdown and Deon Cain, who had five catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. This was also the first 100 yard receiving game for Cain.
Defensively, Clemson dominated the game. They had four tackles for a loss, two sacks, three interceptions and one of them was returned for a touchdown. Defensive back Jadar Johnson and linebacker Ben Boulware led the team with seven tackles each. The defense also held Syracuse to 277 total yards offensively, compared to the 565 total yards of offense that the Clemson offense managed to produce.
Syracuse, offensively, was led by backup quarterback Wilson who replaced Dungey after his injury. Wilson completed 17 of 27 passes, for 116 yards and two interceptions. He was harassed by the Clemson defense the entire night and was forced to make the majority of his throws to the short and intermediate routes. Clemson covered the deep routes well the whole night and the pass rush was able to frustrate Wilson into getting rid of the ball quickly.
Special teams for Syracuse played fairly well though. Punter Sterling Hofrichter had several punts that had good hang time, distance and were able to pin the Clemson offense deep in their own territory. Kickoff return man Sean Riley had 178 yards on returns, including a long return of 68 yards. Kicker Cole Murphy did have the one hiccup for special teams, as he missed a 30 yard field goal that would’ve prevented a shutout.
Next week, Clemson is back at home to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers, who are coming off a 51-28 loss to the Miami Hurricanes. If Clemson defeats Pittsburgh next week, that may win them the Atlantic division of the ACC and lockup their spot for the ACC Championship game and eventually, a place in the College Football Playoff. After a win like this though, Clemson cannot afford to slip up against any opponent as it could cost them their chance of getting into the playoff.
Midway through the first quarter, Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey ran for a short gain and was hit hard and sandwiched by two Clemson defenders. He was laid out on the field for a while before he was helped off the field by the medical staff. He would not return in the game and his backup, Austin Wilson played the rest of the game. Dungey is a dynamic quarterback, so the game may have been a bit closer had he not gotten injured, but given the way Clemson was playing, they still probably would’ve won.
In this game, Clemson was able to get a look at a lot of the players deep on their depth chart and get them valuable playing time and experience. Because they were up 30-0 at halftime, Clemson felt comfortable about playing them. In the end, Clemson played 85 players on their roster. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke after the game about the number of guys they played.
“It was nice to have a game where we could have some fun and get a bunch of guys in the game and get some guys some experience,” Swinney stated. “We played a lot of guys. Most everyone who’s not redshirting, for the most part, you know was able to get in the game today. And that always fun. It’s a little stressful in those situations,” Swinney said with a smile, “in the fourth quarter because you’re trying to make sure you’ve got 11, (players on the field) everybody knows what to do, but it’s a great reward for a lot of those guys to get an opportunity to go play.”
A small issue did arise before halftime though as Clemson’s starting quarterback Deshaun Watson did not play the last series of the first half, or the entire second half. It was later revealed that Watson had bruised his shoulder but could’ve came back in the game if he was needed.
When asked after the game why Watson didn’t play anymore, Swinney, deadpanned, said “because it was 30 to nothing and we had control of the game and we weren’t gonna bring that bruised shoulder… we weren’t gonna put him back out there and take a chance. But he was ready. If we needed him and if we got in a bind.”
Offensively, Clemson was led by quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Nick Schuessler. Watson completed 13 of 16 passes, for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Schuessler completed 11 of 17 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. This was the first time in school history that two quarterbacks each passed for over 160 yards in a game. The receiving group was led by wide receivers Mike Williams, who had six catches for 106 yards and one touchdown and Deon Cain, who had five catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. This was also the first 100 yard receiving game for Cain.
Defensively, Clemson dominated the game. They had four tackles for a loss, two sacks, three interceptions and one of them was returned for a touchdown. Defensive back Jadar Johnson and linebacker Ben Boulware led the team with seven tackles each. The defense also held Syracuse to 277 total yards offensively, compared to the 565 total yards of offense that the Clemson offense managed to produce.
Syracuse, offensively, was led by backup quarterback Wilson who replaced Dungey after his injury. Wilson completed 17 of 27 passes, for 116 yards and two interceptions. He was harassed by the Clemson defense the entire night and was forced to make the majority of his throws to the short and intermediate routes. Clemson covered the deep routes well the whole night and the pass rush was able to frustrate Wilson into getting rid of the ball quickly.
Special teams for Syracuse played fairly well though. Punter Sterling Hofrichter had several punts that had good hang time, distance and were able to pin the Clemson offense deep in their own territory. Kickoff return man Sean Riley had 178 yards on returns, including a long return of 68 yards. Kicker Cole Murphy did have the one hiccup for special teams, as he missed a 30 yard field goal that would’ve prevented a shutout.
Next week, Clemson is back at home to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers, who are coming off a 51-28 loss to the Miami Hurricanes. If Clemson defeats Pittsburgh next week, that may win them the Atlantic division of the ACC and lockup their spot for the ACC Championship game and eventually, a place in the College Football Playoff. After a win like this though, Clemson cannot afford to slip up against any opponent as it could cost them their chance of getting into the playoff.