Tag: Clemson vs. Syracuse

What Brad Brownell said after Clemson’s win at Syracuse

A look at what Clemson coach Brad Brownell said following his team’s 77-68 win at Syracuse on Saturday.

It was hard for Clemson coach Brad Brownell not to be happy after his team’s gutsy 77-68 victory at Syracuse on Saturday.

The win over the Orange marked the first time all season the Tigers (16-7 overall, 6-6 ACC) had won back to back games in conference play. After beating No. 3 North Carolina in Chapel Hill earlier in the week, Clemson made sure to avoid a letdown at the Carrier Dome.

The Tigers never trailed after the early going and had one of their better overall starts of the season, then withstood a second-half surge by Syracuse to close the game on a 17-8 run in the final 3:37.

Joe Girard led all scorers with 18 points and missed only two shots all afternoon in his return to Syracuse, where he spent four seasons under coach Jim Boeheim,

Here’s what Brownell said after the game.

On finishing strong down the stretch in back to back games:

“Obviously the free-throw shooting down the stretch was huge for our guys. Give Joe and Chase Hunter a ton of credit. It was kind of a strange game. Our starting unit did not guard well the first four minutes of either half. I thought our bench was terrific, giving us the jolt that we kind of needed. There’s been some games where those guys haven’t been able to help us and today they were big. That’s where the lead came from. RJ (Godfrey) was really good. I thought (Chauncey) Wiggins was good. Dillon (Hunter) was really good. I’m just proud of those guys.

“I give our older guys credit. I kind of got into them in a huddle midway through the second half. I was disappointed for a little bit because I thought we were just a little starry-eyed or what not. They thought it was going to be easy, but it’s not going to be easy. (Syracuse) was 11-1 up here. There was a huge crowd today, and they were fighting for their team. It gets loud in here, so we took a deep breath. PJ Hall had a great play off a dunk and then we had a great after-timeout play to Joe for a 3, but those were a couple of really good actions that got us some big baskets. Then defensively, we just kind of held on and held the ball against the (full-court) press.”

On Jack Clark’s performance (game-high 10 rebounds in 29 minutes):

“He did a good job on Chris Bell. When he was on Bell, he had maybe one mistake at the end of the game. The other times early on, he didn’t. Chris Bell is a hard cover because he’s so tall, and he shoots like he’s out of a phone booth. If you’re not in that phone booth with him, he just shoots over the top of you. Dillon was all over him one time, and he just shot on top of him. Dillon is 6-foot-4 and it still wasn’t tall enough. So I thought (Clark) did a good job of guarding. His presence with rebounding and even little things like passes against the press that you don’t think much about, he does them well. That’s certainly helped our team tremendously.”

On Joe Girard not letting his emotions affect him:

“I’m so proud of him. We’re trying to get him 12 shots a game and we run a bunch of different things, but when they put Judah Mintz on him and they just chase him everywhere, it’s like Reece Beekman from Virginia. Those dudes are panther-type athletes. Those dudes do an unbelievable job. They’re right on top of screens and they’re connected. It’s hard to break (Girard) free.

“To Joe’s credit, he did not take bad shots. He stayed within the offense. He moved and he accepted that sometimes he’s not going to get a shot. When they guard like that, sometimes it opens up room for other players. Chase Hunter has room to drive and has more space to post the ball. So just Joe being on the floor is significant from that (standpoint), but the efficiency is what it comes down to. Joe’s efficiency is so good: 5-for-6 (field goals), and then he makes all his free throws. There are a lot of guys that score 20 in games, but they take 20 shots to get them. Joe rarely does that. His poise down the stretch and the way he wanted the ball and helped us break press and deal with pressure, he was terrific.”

On getting past 21 turnovers:

“Our big guys just did not do a good job. Ian (Schieffelin) barely practiced Friday. He’s battling some stuff and even PJ, we had to sit him out two days. It’s hard when guys don’t practice, but you can’t simulate this kind of speed and athleticism. Maliq Brown is a tough hombre. I liked that kid for Syracuse. He plays hard and tough and has his hands on everything.

“It was hard for PJ to get comfortable, and I thought one of the moves he made at the end, one of the tough power moves, he multi-pivoted. That’s just a grown-man basket. That basket by PJ Hall, there are only three guys in our league that can make that play. It was a phenomenal play. It was tough all day and they were unrelenting in that they kept pressuring those big guys every second. We kept trying to do different things to try to move them around.”

WHAT’S NEXT: Clemson returns to the court Wednesday night when the Tigers host Miami at 7 p.m. EST at Littlejohn Coliseum. The game will be televised by ESPN2.

Clemson Tigers vs. Syracuse Orange: How to Watch/Stream/Listen

A look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, stream and listen to Saturday’s game against Syraucse.

After a thrilling upset of No. 3 North Carolina on Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, Clemson will look to do something it hasn’t done all season when it takes the floor at Syracuse Saturday at noon — win back-to-back games in conference play.

The Tigers (15-7 overall, 5-6 ACC) received a big shot in the arm, to say nothing of a huge boost to their NCAA Tournament résumé, with their 80-76 victory over the Tar Heels this week. Clemson currently is ranked 24th in strength of schedule by ESPN and has Quad 1 wins over Carolina, Pitt, Alabama, and TCU.

But the Tigers haven’t won back to back games since December and have struggled with consistency since ACC play resumed on January 3, something that head coach Brad Brownell alluded to after the victory over North Carolina.

“I’ve said a couple of times that I think we’re playing better than our ACC record. But we are what our record says we are, so we’ve got to finish some games,” Brownell said. “Our guys have really hung in there. They’ve battled and stayed pretty positive. They’re working hard in practice every day. We just haven’t had many good results.”

Clemson can change that with a win against a Syracuse team that’s had similar results in conference action. The Orange (15-8 overall, 6-6 ACC) have also struggled with consistency in Adrian Autry’s first season since the retirement of legendary coach Jim Boeheim.

Syracuse is led in scoring by sophomore Judah Mintz, who averages 18.3 points per game and had 21 in the team’s 94-92 victory over Louisville earlier this week. JJ Starling averages 13 points per game and has been more of a factor of late. Chris Bell (formerly Chris Bunch) is coming off a career-high 30-point showing for Syracuse.

For Clemson, PJ Hall has been the Tigers’ rock all season. His points-per-game average is up to 20 after a team-high 25 points in Tuesday’s win at Chapel. Hall has had seven games of 25 points or more this season .

Joe Girard is averaging 15 points per game and had 21 against UNC, including five 3-pointers.

Series Notes and Recent History

Clemson leads the all-time head to head series with Syracuse, 8-6. All but two of those meetings have occurred since the Orange joined the ACC in 2013-14. The Tigers won the last meeting between the two schools, 91-73, in February of last year at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson hasn’t won at Syracuse since 2016.

How To Watch

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Saturday’s game.

Date: Saturday, Feb. 10

Time: 12 p.m. EST

Where: JMA Wireless Dome (Carrier Dome)

TV Channel: ESPN2

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 381)

Broadcast Teams

ESPN2: Jay Alter, Malcolm Huckaby

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Jim Davis

Clemson moves up the rankings in USA TODAY Sports College Football Re-Rank 1-133 after a Week 5 win over Syracuse

Clemson moves up the rankings, but it still feels like the Tigers need to be ranked higher.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers earned their first ACC win of the season Saturday as Clemson took down Syracuse 31-14 on the road in a strong showing. 

Clemson (3-2, 1-2 ACC) hasn’t had the start to their 2023 season that many imagined, but the Tigers are still one of the better teams in the country. They are near the top from a talent standpoint, but their record this season doesn’t reflect it. 

We all know this team had issues out of the gates, but with the bad, we’ve seen a ton of good. This team has outplayed every team they’ve faced this season statistically, but turnovers and miscues were a big part of their losses against Duke and Florida State. 

In their win against Syracuse, the Tigers looked excellent in the first half. While the second half wasn’t as strong, the defense showed up, and the offense did its part. 

With the win, the Tigers moved up in the USA TODAY Sports College Football 1-133 re-rank after Week 5, but not much. Moving five spots, Clemson now ranks No.34 in the weekly rankings. This still feels too low like last week after their loss to Florida State. 

Obviously, the Tigers have two losses, and the Week 1 loss to Duke wasn’t pretty, and they are the highest-ranked team with two losses. That alone makes it tough to complain… but I’m still going to!

For me and rankings such as this, I like to compare what I’ve seen from one team to the next. When looking at Clemson and the teams above them, multiple teams are not as talented as Clemson and haven’t looked as good as the Tigers.

I’d say there are at least eight teams ranked above them that Clemson would be betting favorites against, and I’m saying at least here. The Tigers have a lot of season left to prove why they should be ranked higher.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers avoid a ‘perfect storm for a disaster’ in win over Syracuse

Dabo Swinney touched on Clemson’s win over Syracuse, avoiding a ‘perfect storm for a disaster.’

If Clemson dropped a road game to Syracuse after the start of this season, would it be a disaster? 

Dabo Swinney stated last Saturday’s game at Syracuse was “a perfect storm for a disaster” during his weekly radio show Monday night. Following their crushing 31-24 overtime loss to Florida State, the Tigers had to travel to an undefeated Syracuse team the next week. 

In a crucial game for their season, Swinney and the Tigers avoided disaster. Instead, they dominated the Orange. 

“You saw who we are. You saw the heart, the character, the resiliency of Clemson. Our staff and our players, again, kind of everything against you, if you will,” Swinney said. “What I mean in a perfect storm, you are coming off as gut-wrenching a loss as you can have, especially with the way we lost, the implications of the season, all of those things, the negativity. All of those things, you have to pick yourself back up, and then on top of that, oh, by the way, you have to go play a team at their place that is undefeated.”

Syracuse may not have faced top competition through their first four weeks, but the talent on that team is undeniable. Swinney’s team faced that head-on and the results were excellent. 

“They have a top 10 defense, a top 10 offense, scoring offense and defense in the country. They have another great quarterback. It is a very tough place to play, and we go in there, and we played a heck of a ballgame. We played physical. We set the tone early. Again, you saw the character, heart, and culture of Clemson football.”

Clemson will look to build off this performance in Week 6 when they face Wake Forest at Death Valley, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. on ACC Network.

Clemson earns offensive line of the week honors from PFF

Clemson’s offensive line was the best in the country in their Week 5 road win over Syracuse.

If your offensive line is performing at a high level, your team, more often than not, has an excellent chance to secure a win. 

Clemson’s offensive line put together a phenomenal performance Saturday as the Tigers picked up a huge 31-14 road win over Syracuse. The offense performed about as well as we’ve seen this season, and a big piece of that success was this Clemson offensive line. 

How good was the Tigers’ offensive line on Saturday? They were so good that PFF named them the offensive line of the week for Week 5

Mitchell Mayes allowed a sack and four hurries for Clemson at right guard, but the rest of the starting offensive line allowed just two other pressures in a dominant performance up front.

The offensive line has been working hard for this team, and that’s with the loss of veteran offensive guard Walker Parks, who is out for the season. Syracuse’s defense was a big challenge, especially on the road, and the Tigers handled their business.

They should only improve from here as they become a more cohesive unit up front.

Dabo Swinney on the overturned targeting call on Justin Mascoll

Justin Mascoll laid a monster hit on Garrett Shrader, and the refs made the right call, overturning the targeting call.

Clemson defensive end Justin Mascoll laid the boom on Syracuse starting quarterback Garrett Shrader, and if it weren’t for the competency behind the replay review, the Tigers would have lost one of their top defenders early in their 31-14 win over the Orange.

On the Orange opening drive, Mascoll stopped a 19-yard Shrader run with a monster hit that caused a fumble that was recovered by the Tigers. Flags flew, with targeting being the call after the crushing hit from the defensive end. 

Swinney did not react well to the flags, knowing it was a clean hit by his defender. 

“I just saw it clean. I did not see what they saw,” Swinney said. “I saw a clean hit.”

“It looked worse than it was because (Shrader) did not see it coming,” Swinney said. “I think sometimes when it is a quarterback… but he was not a defenseless player. He is running the ball, and he is not sliding. He is not a guy that slides. He is a punishing runner, but he just did not see him. I know it looks worse than it was, but I thought it was a clean hit from the get-go.”

These moments are always scary ones for teams, as you never know which way these officials might go. In the past, we’ve seen some questionable targeting calls confirmed in huge situations.

This time, the officials got it right.

Social media reacts: Freshman wide receiver Tyler Brown is the real deal

Tyler Brown looks like the real deal through five games this season.

Has Clemson found their new star wide receiver?

Clemson has a lot of talent at wide receiver but it has felt like they’ve been lacking that explosive playmaker at the position for a few seasons. Through five games this season, it doesn’t feel that way anymore with freshman wide receiver Tyler Brown breaking out.

It was another impressive performance from the young receiver, hauling in eight receptions for 151 yards. Brown has become a focal point of the passing game early in his career with the Tigers, and you can see why. He runs clean routes, creates separation, has great ball skills and is explosive in open field.

It was a great performance from a great freshman talent. Here is a look at how social media reacted to Brown’s big game.

Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader: ‘We beat ourselves more than they beat us’

Garrett Shrader has had a lot to say about Clemson during his time as the Syracuse starting quarterback.

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!

Social media reacts: Clemson takes down Syracuse on the road

Clemson took down Syracuse to pick up their first ACC win this season.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football team needed a win on the road against Syracuse, and they did just that, taking down the Orange 31-14 for their first ACC win.

The Clemson defense put together a complete performance on Saturday, dominating the Syracuse offense for most of the game. On offense, the Tigers looked strong in the first half but lagged in the second half as they coasted by to the win.

Overall, it was a strong performance for the Tigers, but they could have shown more consistency. What matters is that they got the job done.

Here is a look at how Twitter/X reacted to Clemson’s win over Syracuse. 

Five takeaways from Clemson’s strong but inconsistent road win over Syracuse

It was a strong bounce-back win for Clemson, but the Tigers need to continue to work to find more consistency.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers recovered from last week’s overtime loss to Florida State with a bounce-back road 31-14 win over Dino Babers and Syracuse. 

Clemson (3-2,1-2 ACC) came to play in the first half, with the defense making plays, causing turnovers, and the offense taking advantage of the opportunities they were given. The second half wasn’t as strong for the Tigers’ offense, but the defense continued to perform as the team picked up a much-needed ACC win. 

Watching this win, you can see how talented this Clemson team is and how much more they are capable of. The team needs to continue working and find more consistency in their game.

Here are five takeaways from Clemson’s solid road win against Syracuse.