Clemson Defense Rises to Occasion In Come From Behind Win Over Syracuse

After giving up two scoring drives in the first half to Syracuse, Clemson's defense stepped up big, at a time when the Tigers needed it the most.

After Orange QB Garrett Shrader scored on a 7-yard run with 1:53 remaining in the second quarter, giving Syracuse a 21-7 lead, Wes Goodwin challenged his unit.

The Tigers responded, and in a big way. The Orange never scored again, going eight consecutive drives without a point. It was a dominant effort over the final two quarters which allowed Clemson's offense the opportunity to score 17 unanswered points and pull off the 27-21 comeback win.

"They responded to the challenge," Goodwin said after the win. "Just for whatever reason I just felt like we kind of came out, just needed to tighten our coverage down, just kind of flow of the game a little bit. Guys gain more confidence as we go in the game and realize that they match up with 'em.

"We just stayed within our game plan. I mean, we just adjusted within our game plan and I thought that our guys responded and obviously rose to the occasion without giving up any points in the second half."

After that scoring run by Shrader, veteran DE K.J. Henry could be seen on the sidelines demanding more from his teammates.

"It was cool to see some leadership from within," Goodwin said. "There's only so much screaming and yelling you can do as a coach. The great teams are player-driven, player led and so just he was taking some ownership just lighting into guys as well, and the guys responded."

The Tigers held Shrader to just 167 passing yards, sacked him five times, and intercepted his final pass of the game. Clemson's defense also limited the dynamic QB to just 3.4 YPC, after he was able to have some first-half success on the ground.

However, as well as the Tigers played on the defensive side of the ball in that second half, Goodwin is still looking for a full four quarters, something the team has struggled to accomplish, despite the 8-0 start.

"For whatever reason, we've found a way to win eight games in a row," Goodwin said. "It says a lot about both the heart and soul of this team and the character of those guys in the locker room. They just fight and claw.

"Great teams win championships. It's not about one side of the ball or the other. Great teams have offense, defense, special teams, working together. Hopefully, one day, before the season's over, we can all play complimentary football where we're all working on the same three cylinders, working together."

Clemson now heads into a bye week before a trip to South Bend to face Notre Dame, for what will be the team's final road game of the regular season.

The off week will not only give the coaching staff an extra week to prepare for the Fighting Irish, but it also gives the team a chance to reset and Goodwin a chance to do some self-scouting.

"It'll be a great two weeks," Goodwin said. "Get healthy, just catch our breath a little bit. Obviously going to be a big work week as well, it's not like we're taking time off. So we'll get a head start on these guys. Obviously, go back and look at stuff that we've done in the first part of the season. Be a great teaching moment to self-scout, what's been working, what's not, and get ready for championship November."

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