Clemson Gets Past Syracuse, Remains Unbeaten

No. 5 Clemson rallied from an 11-point deficit at halftime to shut out No. 14 Syracuse in the second half and win the Tigers' 38th consecutive home game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

CLEMSON, S.C. — In a battle of unbeaten teams, Clemson did what it's done so many times during the longest home winning streak in the country: win.

The No. 5 Tigers rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit and got a 50-yard TD run by Will Shipley in the fourth quarter to slip past No. 14 Syracuse 27-21 at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. 

Clemson (8-0, 6-0 ACC) set the conference record with its 38th consecutive home victory, passing Florida State, and increased its nation-leading win streak to 14 games. The Tigers ended Syracuse's perfect start and assumed full control of the ACC Atlantic Division before the month of October's even over. 

The Tigers' defense pitched a shutout in the second half and held dynamic Syracuse QB Garrett Shrader to 167 passing yards, but he did rush for 71. The Orange (6-1, 3-1) had 291 total yards. 

The Clemson offense committed four turnovers and had a quarterback change in the second half but found a way to rack up 451 total yards. 

Clemson shot itself in the foot too many times in the first half and trailed 21-10 heading into the locker room. The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Shipley's 1-yard TD run on their first possession, but the Orange responded with 21 unanswered points. 

Sean Tucker caught a 12-yard TD pass from Shrader in the first quarter. In the second, DJ Uiagalelei fumbled at the Syracuse 10-yard line and it was picked up and returned 90 yards for the score by Ja'Had Carter to give the Orange a 14-7 lead. 

After a turnover on downs by the Tigers, Syracuse went on an 8-play, 68-yard drive that resulted in a 7-yard TD run by Shrader to put the Orange up 14. Clemson got a late field goal to end the half, but the Tigers didn't handle the third quarter well on offense. 

The defense got three consecutive stops, but the scoring attack had a punt, a Shipley fumble and an Uiagalelei INT to start the third quarter. That landed Uiagalelei, who was 13-of-21 passing for 138 yards and two picks, on the bench in favor of freshman Cade Klubnik. 

The Tigers got help from a couple of Syracuse penalties on Klubnik's possession to reach the goalline and score on a 1-yard TD run by Phil Mafah on fourth down with 13:46 left in the game. Clemson was unsuccessful on a two-point conversion try so the Orange led 21-16. 

The defense got yet another key stop and Clemson took the lead in just two plays as Shipley scampered 50 yards for the touchdown. Klubnik found Joseph Ngata in the back of the end zone on a two-point conversion that put Clemson up 24-21 with 11:26 left in the game. 

B.T. Potter made his second field goal of the game to put Clemson up 27-21 with 1:33 to play, and Clemson safety R.J. Mickens picked off a Shrader pass with 15 seconds left to turn Syracuse away. 

Player of the Game: Shipley came up big again with his second consecutive game of over 100 rushing yards. The sophomore running back produced 172 on 27 carries and scored the go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter on a 50-yard run, redeeming himself from an earlier fumble. He's now rushed for 10 touchdowns on the season. He had 11 last year. 

Key Play: On third-and-25 from the Syracuse 47 late in the third quarter, Klubnik was hit while going out of bounds and the Orange were flagged for a personal foul late hit, which kept the drive, and maybe the game (season?), alive for the Tigers, who scored on a Phil Mafah run to cut the Orange lead to five. 

Freshman Impact: Klubnik did his best Chase Brice impression with Brice, the current starter at App State and former Clemson backup who led the Tigers over Syracuse in 2018, in attendance at Memorial Stadium. Klubnik was just 2-of-4 passing, but he rushed for 15 yards and protected the ball. 

Stat of the Game: The Clemson defense produced five sacks, the most in a single game this season. 

Up Next: Clemson gets next week off before a road trip on Nov. 5 to South Bend, Indiana, to take on Notre Dame in a non-conference game. 

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