The Notes: No. 1 Clemson 47, Syracuse 21
Clemson has now won each of its first six games of a season by 18 points or more for the first time in school history.
Clemson has now opened a season with six consecutive games scoring 37 points or more for the first time in school history.
Clemson scored at least 40 points for a fifth-straight game, the second-longest streak in school history behind a six-game streak last season.
Clemson recorded four takeaways, Clemson’s 17th game with four or more takeaways under Head Coach Dabo Swinney. It was Clemson’s most takeaways in a game since a four-takeaway game against NC State last November.
Clemson won the turnover margin, 4-1. Clemson finished a season-best +3 in the turnover margin, its first performance with a +3 turnover margin since last year’s ACC Championship Game against Virginia. Clemson is now 15-0 under Dabo Swinney all-time when finishing a game +3 or better in the turnover margin.
Clemson’s three interceptions gave the Tigers their second three-interception game of the season, joining the team’s win against Miami (Fla.) two weeks ago.
Clemson passed for 308 passing yards and has now produced back-to-back 300-yard passing performances for the first time this season and for the first time since a four-game streak against NC State, Wake Forest, South Carolina and Virginia last season.
Running back Travis Etienne rushed 16 times for 86 yards with three rushing touchdowns. He also added three catches for 20 yards.
Etienne’s three rushing touchdowns matched his career high, set previously five times including most recently against Boston College in October 2019. It was his ninth career game with three or more total touchdowns (including receiving touchdowns), his first since last year’s Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State.
Etienne now has seven career rushing touchdowns against Syracuse, his most against any opponent.
Etienne scored a touchdown of any kind in a 41st different game of his career, matching the FBS record held by San Diego State's Donnel Pumphrey from 2013-16. (*NOTE: Entering the 2020 season, the NCAA FBS Record Book listed Florida's Tim Tebow (38 games from 2006-09) and Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Dixon (38 from 2012-15) as the record-holders for most career games scoring a touchdown. Etienne was believed to have broken that record by scoring in a 39th career game against Miami. However, after additional research by ESPN, the NCAA acknowledged an error in its record book and updated it to reflect Pumphrey scoring a touchdown in 41 games from 2013-16.).
During the game, Etienne (4,583) became the 12th player in school history to record 4,500 career yards of total offense. Every player ahead of him in school annals recorded at least 3,300 passing yards to help reach that figure; Etienne has 23 career passing yards.
On his first score, a 25-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Etienne passed Woodrow Dantzler (68) for sole possession of fourth on Clemson's all-time leaderboard for career touchdown responsibility. Etienne is fourth on that list despite not having a passing touchdown to his credit in a category that credits both touchdowns scored and touchdowns thrown.
During the game, Etienne (64) entered the Top 10 in FBS history in career rushing touchdowns according to official NCAA records. Etienne passes Donnel Pumphrey (62) and Ron Dayne (63) and is now tied with Anthony Thompson and Cedric Benson (64 each) for seventh-most in FBS history.
With his second touchdown of the game, Etienne became only the seventh FBS player since 1956 to record 70 career total touchdowns.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 27-of-43 passes for 289 yards with two touchdown passes. His 43 pass attempts were a career high, surpassing his 41 against Miami earlier this season.
Lawrence improved to 31-1 as a starter to pull within one win of the school record for wins as a starting quarterback. Rodney Williams, Tajh Boyd and Deshaun Watson are all tied for the school record with 32 wins each.
WIth his second touchdown pass of the game, Lawrence (97) passed Marquise Williams (96) for fifth on the ACC's all-time career leaderboard for touchdown responsibility.
Lawrence recorded an eight-yard reception on a pass from Amari Rodgers. It was his third career reception, but his first that didn’t come from himself on a batted pass.
The pass completion by Rodgers to Lawrence was the first pass completion by a Clemson receiver since Hunter Renfrow against Wake Forest in 2018. However, Renfrow was playing quarterback on that play in his role as the team’s emergency quarterback. The last pass completion by a receiver playing in his normal position was Deon Cain against Wake Forest in 2015.
Lawrence opened the scoring on a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cornell Powell on the game’s opening drive.
Powell has now scored a touchdown in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
Tight end Davis Allen caught his third touchdown pass of the season on a 17-yard pass from Lawrence in the second quarter.
Allen became the first Clemson tight end with a touchdown catch in three consecutive games since Jordan Leggett against Georgia Tech, Louisville and Boston College in 2016.
Allen’s touchdown was the sixth’s by a Clemson tight end through six games this season. In the previous three seasons, Clemson tight ends combined for four total touchdowns in 44 games across 2017-19.
Receiver Amari Rodgers recorded a career-high eight receptions for 91 yards. He now has four straight games with at least six receptions and has caught at least five passes in five of Clemson’s six games this season.
Defensive back Nolan Turner recorded the game’s first takeaway on an interception on Syracuse’s second possession. It was his single-season career-high third interception of 2020.
Turner became the first Clemson player with an interception in back-to-back games since both he and Isaiah Simmons picked off passes against Virginia and Ohio State last season.
Cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. scored his first career touchdown on a 21-yard fumble return in the third quarter.
The fumble returned by Booth was forced by defensive tackle Bryan Bresee on a half-sack split with linebacker Mike Jones Jr.
It was Clemson’s second fumble return for touchdown this season, joining James Skalski’s scoop and score against The Citadel. Clemson has now recorded multiple fumble return touchdowns in a single season for the first time since 2013.
With Clemson’s fumble return touchdown and Syracuse’s interception return touchdown, the game was Clemson’s first in which both teams recorded a defensive touchdown since 2014 when Clemson’s Jadar Johnson and South Carolina State’s Dominique Mitchell each scored via fumble return.
Jones added his first career interception in the fourth quarter, returning it 40 yards to the Syracuse three-yard line to set up a Clemson touchdown.
Defensive back Jalyn Phillips recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter. The interception came one play after Phillips made a touchdown-saving tackle on a 61-yard rush by Syracuse.
Defensive end Xavier Thomas recorded his first sack of the season. He has had one sack in each of his three career games against Syracuse.
Running back Lyn-J Dixon opened the game with a 49-yard kickoff return, three yards shy of his season-long and career-long 52-yarder against Virginia.
Punter Will Spiers, who was celebrating his 23rd birthday, averaged 53.6 yards on five punts, including four of 50 yards or more. It was his third straight game with a punting average of 50.0 yards or more, a career-long streak.
Spiers recorded a career-long-tying 64-yard punt in the first quarter, matching 64-yard punts against Louisville in 2017 and against Charlotte in 2019.
Spiers’ second punt of the game was blocked, Clemson’s first punt block surrendered since 2010 when South Florida blocked a Clemson punt in that year’s Meineke Car Care Bowl. Clemson went 615 punts between blocks surrendered across 2010-20.
Spiers converted a fourth-and-3 on a fake punt with a six-yard rush in the second quarter. It was the third career first down to which he’s contributed but his first via rush. Spiers threw for a first down on a fake punt in 2017 and threw for one last week in his role as an emergency quarterback.
Syracuse scored on a 39-yard interception return for touchdown in the second quarter. It ended a streak of 15 full games in which Clemson had not allowed a single point off of turnovers. The streak covered more than a calendar year, dating to Sept. 28, 2019. Clemson’s defense still has not surrendered any points off turnovers since that date, as the seven points off turnovers surrendered Saturday were given up by the offense.
Clemson played its 20th game all-time while ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll, the 15th-most since the poll's inception in 1936. It was Dabo Swinney's 19th game coached at No. 1, tying him with Jim Tressel for 17th all-time.
Clemson has been ranked in the AP Top 25 in every contest against Syracuse all-time, including a Top 3 ranking in seven of its eight most recent matchups with the Orange since 2013.
Captains for the contest were tight end J.C. Chalk, defensive end K.J. Henry, wide receiver Cornell Powell and safety Elijah Turner.