Clemson’s latest win was a historic one.
The fifth-ranked Tigers on Saturday earned the distinction as the last remaining unbeaten in the ACC with a 27-21 win over No. 14 Syracuse at Memorial Stadium, a place that’s been good to Clemson over the years. The Tigers kept the nation’s longest active winning streak alive, making it 38 straight wins in their own stadium since that Pittsburgh stunner in 2016.
It’s the longest home winning streak the ACC has ever seen.
Clemson began the day tied with Florida State for the most consecutive home wins in conference history. The Seminoles were equally as hard to beat inside Doak Campbell Stadium during the peak of the Bobby Bowden era from 1992-2001 when they won 37 games in a row there.
Clemson is now in sole possession of not only the longest home winning streak in the ACC but also one of the longest in the country. The program has tied Notre Dame’s 38 straight from 1919-27 for the 10th-longest home win streak in Football Bowl Subdivision history.
But the Tigers had to dig deep to keep the streak intact.
Clemson was uncharacteristically plagued by the turnover bug Saturday, finishing minus-3 in the turnover department. Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, who’d thrown just two interceptions all season coming, was responsible for three of them. It marked the first time in 12 games dating back to last season that the Tigers have finished in the red in the turnover margin.
Uiagalelei threw his final pick midway through the third quarter with the Tigers trailing 21-10, forcing Clemson coach Dabo Swinney to bench him in favor of freshman Cade Klubnik. The Tigers didn’t turn the ball over the rest of the way, the defense held Syracuse to 119 yards in the second half, and Clemson scored the game’s final 17 points to escape with a victory that puts the Tigers in the record books.
Clemson, which has an open date next week, will try to keep the streak going when it returns home against Louisville on Nov. 12 following a trip to Notre Dame the previous week.