2019 Recap: Tigers Stifle Orange In Blowout Win
The staff at AllClemson is taking a look back at the 2019 season game-by-game, featuring the highlights, momentum-changing moments and stars. Today we look at the week three matchup against Syracuse, the Tigers' first road game of the season.
Clemson would hit the road for the first time in 2019 for a Week 3 primetime matchup with Syracuse. A team that had given the Tigers all they could handle, and then some over the past two seasons.
The top ranked Tigers were a 27.5-point favorite and coming off of a stifling defensive performance in a 24-10 over Texas A&M, while the Orange had just been embarrassed Maryland 63-20 on the road.
Unlike the previous two years, it didn't take long for the Tigers to assert their dominance in this one. They scored touchdowns on two of their first three possessions and never looked back in a 41-6 win.
Here's how it happened:
It was over when…
Up 17-6 early in the third, and facing a third and one at their own 13, Trevor Lawrence hit Amari Rodgers on a little screen pass. Rodgers made two defenders miss and took it 87 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, giving Clemson a 24-6 lead.
Play of the game:
Up 17-6 very early in the third quarter, Lawrence was picked off by Orange cornerback Christopher Frederick, giving Syracuse the ball inside the Clemson 10-yard line. It was a huge momentum swing in the game for the Orange. However, on the very next play, Mario Goodrich made the play of the game. After being knocked to the ground, Goodrich got back up and intercepted Orange quarterback Tommy Devito, giving the momentum right back to Clemson.
Player of the game:
An argument can be made for multiple players here, but on a night where the defense was suffocating, let's go with Isaiah Simmons. The Tiger defense recorded eight sacks on the night, and Simmons was responsible for two of those, finishing with a game high 11 tackles as well as 3.5 tackles for loss. It was one of his more dominating performances of the year, in a season full of them.
What was that?
ESPN slated this one as a primetime affair early on in the spring of 2019. The Carrier Dome would sell out for the first time in 21 years on this night. However, the game just would not live up to the hype, and for the first time in two years, Dino Babers' Orange were no match for the Tigers.
Freshman impact
Defensive tackle Tyler Davis kept up his fast start to the season, finishing with five tackles and a sack. His presence on the interior of the defensive line was a huge factor in this one. He helped the Tigers limit the Orange to just 15 yards on the ground, and helped keep the pressure on Devito all night, as the Tigers finished with eight sacks.
Stat of the game: 0.4
To say the Clemson defense was dominant on this night would be an understatement. Clemson held the Orange to just 187 yards of offense, and just 15 on the ground. What makes that number even more impressive is the fact that the Orange had 42 rushing attempts in the game. Holding an opponent to 0.4 yards per carry is quite the accomplishment.
He said it...
"I felt there was a lack of respect coming from them. It seems like they put everything they had into beating us with all their hype videos and making our game homecoming and they sell out the stadium. You can't have a good program and do that."- Isaiah Simmons after the game
