When the two division rivals that Syracuse stares up at in the standings meet on Nov. 7 at Death Valley, it will be the de facto ACC championship game.
While the star ranking system is fun for the fans and the drama of NLI Day unleashes eternal optimism for the upcoming season, class rankings are best left to be evaluated once the player finishes his collegiate career.
Saturday afternoon, Syracuse’s seven-game win streak ended with a thud. Or, to be more correct about it, a series of thuds, specifically ones made from a basketball hitting the backboard or rim before falling harmlessly away.
Syracuse was held without a field goal from the 11:45 mark until just over four minutes left in the first half. In that time, Clemson turned a slim 13-8 lead into a 27-11 rout margin.
If you had asked any Syracuse fan if they would’ve taken a 16-6 loss in one of the most hostile environments in the country after SU’s brutal 28-6 loss to Louisville, most would’ve said yes.
Syracuse took a 6-3 lead into halftime, and mostly kept pace with Clemson in an ugly defensive slugfest that featured only one touchdown the whole night.
Clemson looks like a completely different team on offense this year. In one season, Clemson lost its quarterback (Tajh Boyd), two elite receivers (Sammy Watkins, Martavis Bryant) and their leading rusher (Rod McDowell).