The Clemson Tigers fell to the Syracuse Orange at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon, losing 34-21.
With the loss, Clemson is almost mathematically out of any situation for the ACC Championship and College Football Playoff. The Tigers fall to 1-3 for the first time since the 2004 season.
Even while down 10 points at halftime and an hour and 36 minutes of a rain delay at halftime, head coach Dabo Swinney and his squad were unable to form a second-half comeback to salvage the season. Clemson would only score once in the second half, which wasn’t enough.
Despite putting up over 500 yards of total offense, Clemson couldn’t capitalize on the important plays down the field, leading to the team’s second loss in conference play.
Syracuse (3-1, 1-0 ACC) caught the Tigers sleeping in the opening minutes, scoring a touchdown to start the game before recovering an onside kick shortly after to tack on an additional field goal.
Before Clemson (1-3, 0-2 ACC) even got an offensive possession, the score was down by double digits.
The team responded with a Cade Klubnik touchdown pass to Bryant Wesco Jr. for 38 yards, but the Orange continued to tack on points. Clemson’s defense was unable to stop the Syracuse rushing attack, which ran for an average of 6.5 yards per carry in the opening half of play.
Orange quarterback Steve Angeli tacked on another touchdown to put the contest in a multiple-score game. He finished with 244 yards and two touchdowns before an injury put him out of the game in the third quarter.
Klubnik finished with 363 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. His backfield mate, Adam Randall, ran for 130 yards on 16 attempts. He would catch a touchdown in the second quarter, but proceeded to turn the ball over from a fumble in the third quarter to take away momentum.
Swinney’s team couldn’t get going on third and fourth down, going a combined 4-of-18 from those two downs in the loss. The Tigers also lost the turnover margin, which has never boded well for the squad to lose.
Clemson has now trailed all of their opponents by at least seven points throughout this season. The Tigers are only one of four teams in the Power Four conferences to do so, conveying a new low for the team.
Clemson heads into a bye week next week before traveling to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to face the Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium on Oct. 4.
