Dabo Swinney left Syracuse with the kind of win coaches love and the kind of tape that keeps them up at night.
Clemson walked out of the JMA Wireless Dome with an 18-13 victory Saturday, its second straight road win, but the Tigers got there the hard way. The offense moved the ball, the run game showed life and Nolan Hauser kept piling up points. Still, the end zone mostly stayed out of reach, and Clemson had to lean on its defense and a couple of late quarterback runs from Tait Reynolds to finish the job.
“I do feel like we made it a lot harder than it probably needed to be,” Swinney said. “Again, just a lot of missed opportunities in the red zone. That’s kind of been a challenge for us.”
That was the story of the afternoon. Clemson had chances to turn drives into touchdowns and kept settling for field goals instead.
A dropped touchdown, a penalty near the goal line and an early muffed punt all fed the same frustration. Hauser, meanwhile, was steady as ever, making four of five field-goal attempts and accounting for every point the offense managed to produce.
Even with the missed chances, Swinney saw signs the Tigers are inching forward.
Clemson averaged 4.8 yards per carry, Bryant Wesco Jr. finished with six catches for 100 yards, and Reynolds continued to look more comfortable handling the offense. The quarterback’s biggest moments came when the game tightened late, especially after Syracuse cut the lead to five with 3:12 left.
On third-and-8, Reynolds kept the ball on a quarterback draw and picked up 10 yards. Swinney said Clemson expected the coverage and trusted Reynolds to let the play unfold.
“He was patient and kind of let it develop. And then he just went and hit it,” Swinney said. “I mean, he’s a load.”
Reynolds later converted another first down on a run Swinney said came from a call by offensive coordinator Chad Morris. One play showed Reynolds’ physicality. The other showed how much more comfortable he’s becoming with the job.
“He’s just gotten better, more and more confident,” Swinney said. “The game has slowed down for him.”
The offense still had its share of pain points. T.J.
Moore made some tough catches, but he also dropped what Swinney called his easiest chance. Clemson protected well on the play, Reynolds delivered the throw, and the Tigers still came away empty.
Moore later answered with a crucial third-down catch, one of the small responses Swinney said he appreciated even in a messy game.
“Sooner or later, we’re going to work our way out of this,” Swinney said. “And we’re going to put more points up.”
Clemson’s defense made sure the offense didn’t have to be perfect. The Tigers forced two turnovers, scored on a fumble return and kept Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli uncomfortable throughout the game. Swinney said the mix of pressure and coverage changes helped disrupt any rhythm Angeli tried to build.
“We showed man, played zone. We showed zone, played man,” Swinney said. “I mean, we kind of changed some things up.”
That side of the ball gave Clemson the cushion it needed, especially with the offense leaving points on the field. Swinney said the Tigers were missing at least four offensive starters, which made the performance of the replacements even more important. He pointed to true freshman center Grant Wise for handling the noise and pressure in a road start.
“A true freshman coming on the road, playing center in an environment like this. It’s really, really loud,” Swinney said. “And I’m really proud of him on how he managed the game.”
Swinney wasn’t thrilled with everything he saw in the fourth quarter, and he said the Tigers made mistakes and missed assignments that allowed Syracuse to hang around. But the result still mattered, and Clemson finished a demanding week with another win.
The Tigers head home to face Georgia Tech on Senior Day next week, carrying plenty to clean up and enough good to build on.
“It’s not easy to win on the road,” Swinney said. “So we’ll celebrate this tonight.”
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