By Dave Holcomb
SouthernPigskin.com

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Dave Holcomb recaps Clemson’s narrow win over Syracuse.

Almost four years ago to the day, Clemson suffered a shocking upset defeat in Syracuse on a Friday night. But there would be no dxc3xa9jxc3 vu for the Tigers at the Carrier Dome this October.

That doesnt mean it wasnt ugly for Dabo Swinneys team. Syracuse outgained Clemson, 356-314. The Tigers committed seven penalties and averaged only 3.1 yards per rush. But they survived, escaping upstate New York with a 17-14 victory.

Actually, Syracuse blew the game, at least a chance in overtime, as much as Clemson escaped with a win. But credit the Tigers defense, who made some tremendous halftime adjustments against the ACCs top-rated rushing attack.

Syracuse running back Sean Tucker, who entered Friday second in the nation in rushing yards, torched Clemsons defense early. In the first half, Tucker ran for 132 yards, averaging 11.0 yards per rush.

But the Clemson defense did a much better job of containing Tucker in the second half. In the third and fourth quarters, Tucker rushed for 25 yards and averaged only 2.5 yards per carry.

No stop in the run game was bigger for the Clemson defense than the final tackle the unit made on Tucker. Syracuse faced a third-and-2 at the Tigers 31-yard line with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Orange turned to their best player needing a big conversion, but the Tigers stopped him after a gain of one. The big tackle forced Syracuse coach Dino Babers into a tough decision, which he botched badly.

After failing to convert, Babers called Syracuses final timeout, which should have been an indication that the offense was going to remain on the field for fourth-and-1. But instead, kicker Andre Szmyt attempted a 48-yard field goal. He missed terribly to the left.

Its easy to say now knowing the result, but going for it on fourth down was going to give Syracuse a better chance. Szmyt was 1-for-4 on attempts beyond 40 yards prior to that kick. If the field goal is all but guaranteed, playing for overtime is the best strategy. But Szmyt was hardly a sure-thing, and Babers would have been better off telegraphing another running play to Tucker on fourth-and-1.

If Szmyt made his attempt, Babers still would have looked bad. His timeout would have given Clemson 38 seconds to drive into field-goal range to win before overtime.

Maybe Babers just didnt want to lose on the final play of the game again. Syracuse lost to Florida State and Wake Forest the two prior weeks on the final snap. The Orange avoided that happening again if one counts the Clemson kneel down after the missed field goal as the final snap of the night.

Behind its stellar second-half run defense, Clemson held Syracuse to 165 rushing yards. The Orange came into the game with the 10th-most rushing yards per game in the country with 242.8.

Thanks to that Clemson defense, the Tigers won without a 200-yard passer, 100-yard rusher or 100-yard receiver. But the unit, along with the defense, made just enough big plays to beat the Orange. DJ Uiagalelei looked better at times but still only averaged 5.3 yards per pass. Kobe Pace averaged 5.4 yards per carry, but he only had 14 carries.

Drops, bad snaps and penalties once again plagued the Clemson offense, which didnt reach 300 yards until midway through the fourth quarter. The Tigers were also 5-for-15 on third downs.

But as Clemson has said numerous times this year, a win is a win.

The same can be said essentially in reverse for Syracuse, who is tired of moral victories — a loss is a loss.