Quarter back DJ Uiagalelei threw for 181 yards and one touchdown pass, running back Kobe Pace rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown and the Clemson Tigers survived a late rally by the Syracuse Orange, 17-14 on Friday night.
Clemson, (4-2, 3-1 Atlanta Coast Conference) after not playing last week, played its first game as a team not ranked by the Associated Press since November 22, 2014, a 28-0 win against Georgia State, and held on for the victory after Syracuse field goal kicker Andre Szymt missed a 48-yard field goal attempt with 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
“Until our offense grows up a little bit. We’ve got to find a way to win,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Four one-possession games in a row, if that’s who we are, that’s who we are. We’re just going to keep grinding.”
Syracuse, (3-4, 0-3) is in the same position, but they are not having success. The Orange came into Friday nights’ action after two back-to-back ACC loses to Florida State and then- No. 19 Wake Forest, that came down to the final play of both of those games. That seemed like a strong possibility to happen again on a night when running back Sean Taylor continued his stellar season with 157 rushing yards on 22 attempts, most of those coming in the first half of the game.
“This will take a little time to get over,” said Orange coach Dino Babers, who opted for the field goal try on a fourth-and-1 play. “The way these guys are fighting. They’re fighting hard. It’s exciting and it’s disappointing at the same time.”
Clemson had only surrendered five offensive touchdowns on the season, the fewest in the nation. Syracuse got one in the first half and a stunning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter when signal caller Garrett Shrader connected with wide receiver Trebar Pena for a 62-yard Hail Mary touchdown. This happened just over two minutes after place kicker B.T. Potter put a 40-yard field goal through the uprights giving the Tigers a 17-7 lead.
“Disappointed is an understatement,” said Shrader, who rarely found room to showcase his rushing talent. “We know that we could have and we feel like we should have beat all three of those teams, especially today. We’re right there, even today with as bad as we played on offense.”
Here is a closer breakdown of some of the action. Clemson took a 7-0 lead six minutes into the second quarter, assisted by a penalty called on Syracuse linebacker Mikel Jones. Uiagalelei tacked on a 10-yard run, then connected with Joseph Ngata in the right corner of the end zone.
Syracuse knotted the score at 7-all just over three minutes later behind the legs of Tucker, who was able to burst through a big hole and was brought down at the two yard line after a 39-yard run. At that point in the game, Clemson had 23 total plays for 95 yards of offense and Tucker had nine rushes for 31 yard more (126). Signal caller Shruder scored a rushing touchdown from two yards out on the next play, just the second rushing touchdown given up by the Tigers in six games this season.
Uiagalelei, who finished 21 of 34 passing, led Clemson on a 13-play, 58-yard scoring drive that broke a 7-7 tie with time winding down in the second quarter. The drive was kept afloat by a fake punt on a fourth-and-5 pass to tight end Davis Allen. Uiagalelei hit an 11-yarder on the left side to Ajou Ajou to the Syracuse 13 yard line and had a 6-yard completion to wide receiver Justyn Ross to set up Pace’s 2 yard scamper into the end zone with nine seconds left for a 14-7 lead heading to the locker room.
Tucker entered the game ranked second in the country with 791 rushing yards, second with 131.8 yards per game and was the national leader in all-purpose yards (165.83). He needs 52 more yards to reach 1,000 for the season. The last Orange running back to accomplish this feat was Jerome Smith, who ran for 1,254 yards nine season ago.
The Tigers next opponent will be the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday, October 23, at 2:30 p.m.
