Clemson Survives Syracuse
CLEMSON, S.C. – A Travis Etienne two-yard rushing score with less than a minute left in the game proved to be the difference-maker in the No. 3/2 Clemson Tigers’ 27-23 win over the Syracuse Orange on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. With the win, Clemson remained undefeated at 5-0 on the year and 2-0 in the ACC, while Syracuse faced its first loss of 2018 and moved to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Offensively, the ground game powered Clemson and was led by Etienne, who rushed for a career-high 203 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. Tee Higgins was the Tigers’ leading receiver, amassing 53 yards on four catches, including one for 20 yards on a fourth-and-six that kept the game-winning drive alive.
Syracuse converted on two field goal attempts in the first quarter, with the first being from 35 yards and capping the game’s first drive, and the second a 51-yarder after the Orange recovered a Tiger fumble just over a minute later. But it was the Tigers who found the end zone first in the last minute of the first quarter on an Etienne one-yard rush, bringing the score to 7-6 at the end of the first 15 minutes.
Eric Dungey scored Syracuse’s first touchdown on a one-yard rush midway through the second quarter, and Andre Szmyt made his third field goal of the game, this one from 32 yards, with less than 30 seconds left in the half to bring the score to 16-7 in favor of the Orange at the break.
Greg Huegel then converted on two field goal attempts for Clemson, one from 43 yards and one from 37 yards, to cut the Syracuse lead to three points late in the third quarter.
The Orange regained a 10-point advantage early in the final quarter on another Dungey one-yard run, but Etienne broke free for a 26-yard scoring rush on the ensuing drive to bring the lead back to three points, and it was Etienne again who scored the game-winning touchdown on a two-yard run with 41 seconds remaining in the matchup.
Clemson is set to face Wake Forest next Saturday at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, N.C. A kickoff time has not yet been announced for the matchup between the Tigers and Demon Deacons.