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Coming off back-to-back, last-second losses to Florida State and No. 19 Wake Forest, Syracuse faced Clemson at home. It was the first time SU had faced an unranked Tigers team since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013.

Clemson got out to an early 7-0 lead before a Garrett Shrader touchdown run in the second quarter tied it. But Phil Mafah’s 1-yard touchdown run right before halftime gave the Tigers a 14-7 lead, and they hung on the rest of the night for a 17-14 win. It was Syracuse’s third straight three-point loss that came to a play in the final minute, as this time kicker Andre Szmyt missed a 48-yard field goal that would’ve tied the game with less than a minute left.

Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei threw for 181 yards and a touchdown. Sean Tucker tied a school record, recording his fifth straight game with 100 or more rushing yards, and finished with 163 yards yards on 22 carries.

Here are three takeaways from Syracuse’s three-point loss to Clemson:

First-half miscues cost Syracuse

On the first play of a third-quarter Syracuse drive, Shrader handed off to Tucker, who ran through a large hole on the right side. Tucker juked Nolan Turner and took off down the sideline, before eventually being tackled at Clemson’s 20-yard line. But on the next snap, Shrader threw a pass over the middle of the field, which ended up in the hands of Tigers’ safety Tyler Venables. That cost the Orange a chance at taking an early lead and kept the game scoreless.

Then, after Mikel Jones made a nice tackle on Clemson’s first down play, Uiagalelei threw a screen pass to Mafah, who ran down the sideline for a 13-yard gain. After being tackled out of bounds, linebacker Geoff Cantin-Arku knocked down Mafah, picking up a late hit penalty that cost the Orange an extra 15 yards, in addition to the pickup on the play.

Three plays later, Uiagalelei looked to the right side to Joseph Ngata. The junior wide receiver jumped to grab the ball over true freshman cornerback Duce Chestnut and got a foot in bounds to secure the touchdown. Again, a miscue — this time in the form of a personal-foul penalty — proved costly and gave Clemson a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.

Late in the first half, Clemson faced a fourth-and-5 from Syracuse’s 41-yard line. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney sent out a unique punting formation with several players lined up near the sidelines and only a few in the middle of the field. Punter Will Spiers executed the fake punt, throwing to tight end Davis Allen, who leapt over Ja’Had Carter for a tough catch. Syracuse’s inability to stop the trickery led to the Tigers posting seven more points via a Kobe Pace run with just nine seconds left in the half.

Sean Tucker continues dominance

Coming into the game, Tucker led the country in all-purpose yards and through the Orange’s first six games, was responsible for over 40% of the their yards from scrimmage. SU has relied on him and Shrader to move the ball, and that continued against Clemson.

Besides his 54-yard run, Tucker ran for 39 yards on one carry in the first half, breaking up the middle and veering toward the left side before being taken down at the 2-yard line. On the next play, Shrader kept the ball on a read option and scored, tying the game at seven. Tucker finished the first half with 132 yards on 12 carries — an average of 11 yards a run. Syracuse registered just 57 yards without him, and Shrader threw for only 51 yards on 15 attempts in the half — showing the lack of balance between the rushing and passing games in the first 30 minutes.

But in the second half, SU moved more toward a pass-based offense. On their first drive, the Orange threw the ball six times, opposed to only three running attempts.

Shrader finished 17-for-37 passing with 191 yards, featuring the highest number of pass attempts he’s had all season. Like his previous starts, the Mississippi State transfer had a hard time on easy passes and converting on any deep ball attempts, and Shrader had several shorter throws that missed receivers completely.

On a key third-and-long in the fourth quarter, Shrader had wide receiver Courtney Jackson open in the middle of the field but threw the ball just a bit behind him. Jackson couldn’t reel in the one-handed catch and looked up to the Carrier Dome’s roof after the ball fell to the turf.

Syracuse keeps it close against Clemson personnel

Earlier in the week, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said the Tigers, despite being unranked, have “the best personnel” in the ACC. Clemson annually brings in some of the country’s top recruits, and the team features various 4- and 5-star recruits, including Uiagalelei.

“I look at Clemson as I always do,” fullback Chris Elmore said before the game. “They’re a good team with good athletes, so (you) gotta look at them like they do every year.”

But on Friday, Syracuse was able to stay competitive against the personnel and only fell by three points. The Orange’s defense recorded two sacks going against a much stronger offensive line. And SU’s offensive line still created holes for Tucker to run through, despite being without left guard Chris Bleich in the second half.

On Clemson’s first third-quarter play of the game, Syracuse only blitzed four players. But defensive end Cody Roscoe almost immediately found his way into the backfield off the right side, sacking Uiagalelei for the loss on third down. Then in the third quarter, linebacker Stefon Thompson blitzed Uiagalelei and met him from behind. Thompson wrapped up the quarterback and threw him down for the solo sack. Two plays later, the Tigers had to punt.

Clemson’s offense has struggled throughout the season and entered the matchup averaging just 20 points per game — the worst number in the ACC. Uiagalelei has been unable to replicate Trevor Lawrence’s success, and Syracuse’s defense continued to give the Tigers’ offense problems. But the Tigers’ 17 points and strong defensive performance allowed them to hang on for their fourth win of the season, dropping SU to 3-4 on the season.

Published on October 15, 2021 at 10:55 pm

Contact Connor: csmith49@syr.edu | @csmith17_