Before Saturday’s matchup between Clemson and Syracuse, Orange quarterback Garrett Shrader did some talking, as he’s been known to do when facing the Tigers.
Last year, it was this…
“So, I don’t know why, but I’m excited – I think this is our year to take them down, and there’d be no better way to do it than in Death Valley.”
This year, it was this…
“Last year, we played Clemson, we had six or seven starters out – and they were done for the year,” said Shrader. “We got the depth, we got guys coming back. We got everything we need. Now we got to just go out and play, and we’re talented enough, and we can do it. So, we just got to make sure we show up ready to play on Saturday, and we can go out. We can beat these guys.”
Sometimes, you need to let your play do the talking, and that did not happen on Saturday. Shrader was solid but not great, completing 15 of 29 passes for 181 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He was limited to just 24 yards on the ground.
Clemson’s defense was a nightmare for the Syracuse veteran quarterback, sacking him 5 times and shutting them down on the ground. Their offense had no answers for Clemson’s stellar defense.
After the game, Shrader gave the Clemson defense their due but doesn’t believe they were the reason the Orange lost. According to Shrader, Syracuse beat themselves.
” They’ve got great players, but they played exactly how we thought they would, and we were prepared. We just did not play well; I thought we beat ourselves more than they beat us,” Shrader said.
Watching that game, I’m going to disagree, but I wasn’t on the field like he was. Clemson dominated this matchup, and it could have been worse if the offense didn’t play like they were trying to hold onto the lead in the second half.
If you talk the talk, you best walk the walk!