#5 Clemson 27 vs #14 Syracuse 21 : “Just the Facts”

Fact. Clemson beat #14 Syracuse 27-21. Fact. QB DJ Uiagalelei did not have his best game. Fact. DJ Uiagalelei will run out with the first team offense against Notre Dame in two weeks. Fact. Clemson trailed Syracuse 21-10 going into the 4th quarter. Fact. Go back to fact #1.

It is already known that the Tigers had four turnovers on the day, with one of them directly leading to a touchdown, the 90-yard fumble return in the 1st quarter. Clemson hasn’t had 4 turnovers in a game since 2016. This season alone, teams that had 4+ turnovers were 0-17. Well now, that’s 1-17. Turnovers are game killers. The fumble TD-return pretty much shocked the entire stadium, not to mention the two old men on my back patio watching the game.

We have mentioned before about the old Steve Spurrier adage about stats being for losers. However, stats do exist and fans/media love to bring them up in conversations.

Clemson beat Syracuse in almost every statistical category. Total yards, 450-291. First downs, 27-17. 3rd down conversions, Clemson 5-13 and Syracuse 3-11. Time of possession, 33:54 to 26:06. Penalties, Clemson had 6-50, Syracuse 10-88. The one category that balances all these categories are turnovers. Clemson had four and the Orangemen only one, the interception by RJ Mickens with 15 seconds remaining. Statistics come and statistics go, but since the media/fans love to harp on them, they get overblown.

Going into this game, Coach Dino Babers’ defense was touted as the best defense in the ACC. RBs Will Shipley and Phil Mafah put up 270 yards against that Syracuse run defense, and the Tigers put 27 points on a defense that was only allowing 13 points a game. Minus turnovers, this game would not have been close. However, they happened and the Tigers pulled out a 4th quarter victory.

Thank the defense for completely shutting down Syracuse in the 2nd half. Syracuse had seven drives in the 2nd half, managed to run 29 plays and totaled 90 whole yards and five first downs. In all honesty, QB Garrett Shrader just got tired. Coach Dino Babers analyzed that “Clemson took Sean Tucker away, limited him to 5 carries, and made Shrader run more than he wanted to. Beat him up and by the 4th quarter, he was worn out.” That might not be the exact words, but that’s the summary of what happened to the Syracuse offense in the 2nd half. Shrader had 9 carries for 22 yards in the second half and was sacked four times. The defense simply got after it after halftime.

In summary, the first half belonged to Syracuse, and the second half was all Clemson. The Tigers are getting a needed bye week before traveling to Notre Dame. Do not be surprised if the Tigers fall to #6 in the AP poll today. They only won by six over #14 while a one-loss Alabama team beat #24. It’s the Clemson way.