Syracuse suffered its first loss of the season, dropping a 27-21 decision at Clemson. Here are some quick hits from the game.
- The second half meltdown was brutal and came on both sides of the ball. ABC sideline reporter Molly McGrath highlighted a notable shift in morale on the Syracuse bench as the tables turned away from their favor late in the game.
- The offensive line lost essentially all effectiveness on the first drive after the break, committing two holding penalties (one declined due to a sack) and a false start, then allowing another sack to force a punt. A bad shotgun snap tanked another play, another holding flag wiped out a third down conversion early in the fourth, and a false start and whiffed block turned a third-and-one on another fourth down possession into a punt.
- The defense, which was without Garrett Williams due to a thigh bruise suffered last week, got even more banged up over the course of the game. Marlowe Wax, Duce Chestnut, and Derek McDonald all missed time in the first half before returning to action and Kevon Darton left the game in both the first and fourth quarters before re-entering the contest after each injury.
- That defense also wore down late in the contest, in part due to the Tigers running 69 plays over the first three quarters. Clemson’s two late touchdown drives, which both started in the game’s final 20 minutes, totaled 141 yards, one of 15 plays for 80 yards and the latter 61 yards on two plays with Will Shipley blowing through the defense for a 50-yard score.
- After amassing at least six tackles for loss in five of their first six games, the Orange mustered just four on 85 Tigers offensive plays (4.7 percent). Coming into the contest, the SU defense averaged a tackle for loss on 11.4 percent of opponent snaps.
- Saturday was the first time Syracuse forced four turnovers since playing Duke in October 2020. Ja’Had Carter had a fumble recovery for a touchdown and an interception while Marlowe Wax forced a fumble and recovered another. Jason Simmons Jr. had an interception and Rob Hanna was credited with a forced fumble. Kevin Jobity Jr. and Steve Linton notched a sack apiece while Mikel Jones topped the squad with a dozen tackles.
- Sean Tucker had five carries and five receptions, netting 72 yards from scrimmage. He was also shown limping off the field shortly before halftime (LeQuint Allen got a rushing attempt in Tucker’s absence), which has happened in several games this season.
WHAT’S NEXT
SU returns home for their final non-conference game of the campaign when they host Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish (4-3) won for the fourth time in the last five games on Saturday, cruising to a 44-21 home victory over UNLV.
Drew Pyne has been the starting quarterback for all four of those Notre Dame victories, throwing 11 touchdown passes and two picks in five games as a starter. Tight end Michael Mayer has been an exceptional performer, leading the Irish with 44 receptions for 526 yards and six touchdowns.
The Syracuse-Notre Dame game kickoff time and television coverage are yet to be confirmed, but the game will start at either 12:00pm or 3:30pm Eastern and be televised by either ABC or ESPN.
» Related: Ranking the remainder of Syracuse’s football schedule
POSTGAME
“We knew we should’ve had it.” —Garrett Shrader (@GarrettShrader6) on the #Syracuse loss pic.twitter.com/FG1OXPM4Mo
— SUJuice.com (@TheJuiceOnline) October 22, 2022
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
For more Syracuse coverage, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and listen to our podcast.
