No. 5 Clemson is the ACC’s last unbeaten standing after rallying past No. 14 Syracuse on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Here are four sequences that went a long way in determining the outcome, a turning point and a telling stat from the Tigers’ 27-21 win.
- Clemson got away with D.J. Uiagalelei’s interception in Syracuse territory late in the first quarter when the defense immediately forced a three-and-out, but the unit couldn’t do anything about Uiagalelei’s second turnover. The Tigers looked poised to take their first lead when the offense drove 43 yards to Syracuse’s 3-yard line early in the second quarter, but Uiagalelei was then wrapped up near the line of scrimmage on a keeper. He lost control of the ball on his way to the ground, and Ja’had Carter scooped up the fumble and raced 90 yards the other way to give the Orange a 14-7 lead with 9 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first half.
- The Tigers again drove into Orange territory during the latter stages of the second quarter. But instead of opting to send B.T. Potter out for a 50-yard field-goal attempt on fourth-and-2 from Syracuse’s 33, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney kept the offense on the field. That decision backfired when Uiagalelei kept on an option play and was stopped short of the line to gain. The Orange capitalized eight plays later when quarterback Garrett Shrader scrambled for a 7-yard touchdown to give the visitors a 21-7 lead. Clemson stopped some of the bleeding on its final possession of the first half with Potter’s 44-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 21-10 at the break, though Uiagalelei took a sack two plays earlier that forced the Tigers to burn their final timeout and essentially killed their chance to answer with a touchdown.
- After cutting Syracuse’s lead to one score following Phil Mafah’s touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the defense got the ball back to the offense with another three-and-out. Clemson took over at its own 39 and picked up a chunk of yardage on Klunik’s 11-yard keeper that ended with some drama when the ball popped free at the end, though Klubnik was ruled down before what might have been another turnover. Klubnik handed off on the next play to Will Shipley, who broke through the line and shed a would-be tackler along the sideline before racing 50 yards for a score that gave the Tigers their first lead. Klubnik sent the home fans into even more a frenzy when he scrambled long enough to find Joseph Ngata in the back of the end zone for two points, putting Clemson ahead 24-21 with 11:26 left.
- Clemson netted just 1 yards on its first two plays after forcing another three-and-out with less than 4 minutes remaining, setting up a third-and-long for the offense near midfield. Instead of running the ball and forcing the Orange to use one of their last two timeouts, the Tigers dialed up a home-run ball. Klubnik uncorked a pass to the end zone intended for Beaux Collins, which fell incomplete. But cornerback Isaiah Johnson was called for pass interference, giving Clemson a fresh set of downs at Syracuse’s 35. The drive eventually stalled out, but the penalty yardage allowed the Tigers to tack on some more points on Potter’s 44-yard field. It extended Clemson’s lead to 27-21 with 1:33 left, and R.J. Mickens iced the Tigers’ victory with an interception of Shrader deep in Clemson territory with just 15 ticks remaining.
Turning point
Even after making the switch from Uiagalelei to true freshman Cade Klubnik at quarterback, Clemson’s offense wasn’t doing much. The Tigers went backward on their first series with Klubnik at the helm late in the third quarter after the true freshman took a sack, setting up third-and-25 for the Tigers near midfield. As Klubnik was heading out of bounds well short of the sticks against a three-man rush on a scramble, he was hit by Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff, drawing a roughing penalty against the Syracuse defensive lineman that gave the Tigers’ offense new life in Orange territory. Seven plays later, Clemson took advantage on Phil Mafah’s fourth-down plunge into the end zone to trim Syracuse’s lead to 21-16 with 13:46 left in the game. That penalty started a 17-0 run to end the game for the Tigers.
Telling stat: 7
That’s the number of consecutive possessions that ended in a punt or turnover for Syracuse, all of them coming in the second half. With Clemson’s offense – D.J. Uiagalelei, more specially – throwing and fumbling the ball away for much of the day, Clemson finished with four turnovers, marking the first time the Tigers have coughed it up at least three times in a game since their win over Wake Forest last November. That was also the last time the Tigers lost the turnover margin before Saturday. Clemson’s last giveaway came with the Tigers trailing by two scores early in the third quarter, making it imperative for the defense to keep Syracuse’s offense from being able to extend the lead. The Tigers did just that in pitching a second-half shutout, giving Clemson’s Klubnik-led offense a chance to make its comeback.
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