In the end, Clemson survived Syracuse at home 27-21 to extend a nation’s leading win streak to 14 games with a late RJ Mickens interception, but it was anything but easy.
In a game oddly reminiscent of the 2018 matchup between the same teams in the same stadium, the Tigers struggled mightily. What will get the postgame headlines is the fact that quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was benched shortly after halftime in favor of freshman Cade Klubnik. The 2018 matchup featured a QB change due to an injury to Trevor Lawrence, and just like Chase Brice did on that day, Klubnik was behind center as the Tigers came back to win the game.
In 2018, Clemson leaned heavily on the run game. Today, Klubnik threw only four passes and a huge 50-yard touchdown run from Will Shipley that gave the Tigers the go-ahead score.
Four turnovers for the Tigers, including two rough Uiagalelei interceptions and a fumble returned for a touchdown, contributed to Syracuse building a 21-7 lead at the half. Those mistakes go a long way in explaining why Uiagalelei got benched.
Backs against the wall, Clemson’s standout defense reminded everyone why it remains one of the best units in the country, especially up front. You should not win a game with a -4 turnover margin. It’s a complete outlier that Clemson was able to do so. According to ESPN, teams -4 or worse in any FBS game this season were 0-17. But there were no panic in these Tigers, and they outlasted the Orange.
Syracuse’s schedule hadn’t really been one to write home about to date, but they fought, even bowing up to get the ball back with less than two minutes left with a chance to tie the game, but Dino Babers’ questionable delay in calling a timeout as the clock winded down after a fourth down stop was confusing. What also remains befuddling is what exactly happened to Sean Tucker’s touches in the third quarter as Clemson stormed back to take the lead. But while receiver Orande Gadsen played well, Garrett Schrader’s late pass forced into triple coverage blanketing the standout WR effectively ended the game when it was picked off by Mickens.
When asked in an on-field ESPN interview, Dabo Swinney said he’s confident Uiagalelei is going to remain the starter.
“That’s our guy, that’s our leader. You can write that right now, DJ’s our guy,” Swinney said.
But the Tigers have a bye week now, and if there is a time to make a permanent QB change it is likely now. The storyline will likely remain something the team will have to address if Uiagalelei struggles again.
But what matters today is that they again won—just like five seasons ago.
