Nolan Hauser kept Clemson on the scoreboard, the defense kept Syracuse out of the end zone for long stretches, and Tait Reynolds made the play the Tigers needed most when the game got tight.
That formula was enough for Clemson to escape the JMA Wireless Dome with an 18-13 win over Syracuse on Saturday. Hauser drilled four field goals, Jahiem Lawson turned a fumble into a touchdown, and Reynolds converted a crucial third down late to help Clemson hold on after Syracuse made things uncomfortable in the final minutes.
Clemson moved to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the ACC, locking up bowl eligibility with its second straight road win. Syracuse dropped to 4-5 and 2-5 in conference play. Dabo Swinney also passed FSU legend Bobby Bowden for the most regular-season ACC wins.
For most of the afternoon, Clemson looked like a team that could move the ball but couldn’t finish. The Tigers kept finding explosive plays, then settling for field goals. Hauser answered from 32, 36, 37 and 54 yards, and the last one gave him a school-record four field goals of at least 50 yards this season.
The only touchdown Clemson got came from its defense.
Midway through the third quarter, with Clemson ahead 12-6, Kourtney Kelly hit Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli as he released the ball. The backward pass hit the turf, Lawson scooped it up and ran 22 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Sammy Brown was stopped on the 2-point try, but Clemson still pushed the lead to 18-6 with just under seven minutes left in the quarter.
That cushion looked big enough until Syracuse made one last push.
The Orange reached the Clemson 3-yard line late in the fourth quarter, but on third-and-goal, Angeli was pressured from his right and threw into the end zone, where Ashton Hampton intercepted the pass. Clemson still couldn’t put the game away on offense, and Syracuse got another crack.
This time, the Orange finished. Daunte Bacheyie caught all five completions on a 74-yard touchdown drive that started at the Syracuse 26. The last two plays covered 23 and 33 yards, and Bacheyie dragged a Clemson defender into the end zone on the touchdown catch to cut the margin to 18-13 with 3:12 remaining.
From there, Clemson’s offense had to answer for itself. The Tigers took over at their own 25 and gained only two yards on their first two snaps, leaving everything on third-and-8 with the game hanging there.
Reynolds took over on a quarterback draw and picked up 10 yards to move the chains. He added another first-down run to help Clemson run out the clock and finish a game that had gotten far tighter than it should have been.
The first half followed the same pattern that defined the rest of the afternoon: Clemson made chunk plays, then stalled. Jarvis Green, starting in place of injured running back Gideon Davidson, opened the game with a 53-yard burst to the Syracuse 22, but the drive ended with Hauser’s 32-yard field goal.
Syracuse answered with a 13-play drive capped by Tripp Woody’s 26-yard field goal to tie it at 3.
Clemson needed just one snap to threaten again. Reynolds hit Bryant Wesco for 53 yards to the Syracuse 32 on the first play of the next possession, but that drive also ended with a field goal, this one from 36 yards, to put Clemson ahead 6-3 late in the first quarter.
Syracuse missed a field goal early in the second quarter, then tied the game at 6 with Woody’s 46-yarder on the next possession. Hauser, after missing from 56 yards, answered from 37 with a little more than two minutes left in the half.
That series included a 29-yard pass to Wesco and a 36-yard completion from Wesco to T.J. Moore.
By halftime, the teams had combined for five made field goals and neither had reached the end zone.
Clemson forced a punt to start the second half, then drove into range for Hauser’s 54-yarder and a 12-6 lead. Lawson’s touchdown return on the next Syracuse possession finally broke the string of field goals and gave the Tigers a two-score advantage. In the end, they needed every bit of it.
Clemson returns to Memorial Stadium on Nov. 14 to host Georgia Tech at 12:30 p.m. on The CW. Syracuse visits NC State that day for a noon kickoff.
In Other News...
Dawn Staleys Clemson Visit Had A Personal Twist Gamecocks Fans Will Notice
Dawn Staley made a rare appearance on the Clemson side of the basketball rivalry this week, showing up at Littlejohn Coliseum to support her godson, Madden Collins, when American visited the Tigers. Staley, the South Carolina womens basketball coach, was there in an American University hoodie while her own team had practiced earlier in the day, a reminder that even in a state rivalry, family ties can pull a coach into an unexpected seat.
Collins gave her plenty to watch, leading American with 23 points in the loss to Clemson. For Gamecocks fans, the sight of Staley at a Clemson game will always carry a little extra intrigue, even if the reason was personal rather than partisan. It was one of those small crossover moments that says as much about Staleys reach as it does about the scene around Clemson basketball. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons Ugly Syracuse Win Left Fans With One Big Offense Debate
Clemsons 18-13 win over Syracuse was the kind of game that left little room for celebration and plenty of room for questions. The Tigers did enough to secure bowl eligibility, but for most of the afternoon the offense struggled to turn chances into touchdowns, forcing Clemson to lean on field goals and a defensive score just to stay ahead in a game that never felt comfortable.
Tait Reynolds and the offense will take the heat for the missed opportunities, especially with the Tigers finally finding the end zone only in the closing minutes. Clemsons defense did its part against Steve Angeli and Syracuse, but the bigger conversation now is whether this kind of uneven performance is just an ugly one-off or a warning sign about how much the offense can be trusted when the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Survived A Brutal Injury Week With Bigger Questions Ahead
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The injury list did not stop there. Quarterback Christopher Vizzina rolled his ankle and was limited in practice, though he was still available for the game, and receivers Gordon Sellars III and Tyler Brown also were dealing with issues during the week. For a Clemson team trying to keep its footing, the immediate concern is obvious, but the larger question is how much more wear and tear the Tigers can absorb before it starts to shape what they can do on offense. [Read more 🡒]