Steve Angeli’s afternoon against Clemson unraveled fast, and the Tigers made sure it stayed that way.
The Syracuse quarterback finished with the worst accuracy of his college career, completing only 18 of 40 passes for a 45% clip. He missed open targets throughout the game, threw two costly turnovers and didn’t find the end zone through the air until the Orange had already shifted into desperation mode in the final four minutes. It was Angeli’s lowest completion percentage in any game in which he has attempted more than five passes.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said the damage started early, when the Tigers were able to make Angeli uncomfortable and force him into a rushed rhythm.
“We got after him,” Swinney said. “We won some matchups up front.
I know we had three sacks but we hit him a few times. Coverage-wise we did a good job.”
The Tigers recorded only three sacks, but two came in the first quarter, and that early pressure changed the feel of the game. Angeli’s internal clock sped up, and he never really settled in over the next three hours. Syracuse fell 18-13 to a Clemson team that was missing four offensive starters and still didn’t score an offensive touchdown.
Angeli kept it simple when asked about his own play.
“Just gotta make those throws,” Angeli said. “Our offensive line is doing everything it can to give me time. With what I’m supposed to be for this team, I’ve got to make those throws.”
Once Clemson had rattled him early, the Tigers didn’t spend the rest of the afternoon chasing him with blitzes. They trusted their secondary and their front four, leaning on elite corner play and a steady stream of disguised looks to keep Angeli guessing. Clemson showed one coverage before the snap and then rolled into another, breaking up eight passes in all.
Ashton Hampton was the headliner in the back end. The star cornerback had two pass breakups and an interception, including a painful pick in the end zone with 6:03 left when he undercut a throw intended for David Clement. That missed chance left Syracuse in a desperate spot.
“We showed man, played zone,” Swinney said. “We showed zone, played man. That’s how we got the (interception) near the end.”
Swinney also said Clemson wanted Angeli to operate on the move and suggested the quarterback may not be fully healthy.
“Got a lot of respect for that kid,” Swinney said. “He’s tough. I don’t think he’s 100 percent because he’s kind of been on the injury report.”
Angeli tore his Achilles tendon against Clemson last season and has dealt with ankle bursitis during his comeback. He wasn’t directly asked about his health after Saturday’s game, but when questioned about his mobility, he offered only a brief response.
“My mobility’s the same as it was last week,” said Angeli, who rushed for a 26-yard touchdown during a win over Southern Methodist.
Clemson’s plan in coverage was clear: trust its corners in man-to-man situations and let them handle Syracuse’s wideouts. That meant matching up with Calvin Russell III, who entered the day as the spark behind Syracuse’s two-game winning streak, and Umari Hatcher, who came in ranked No. 5 in the country in receiving yards.
Russell still made some plays, finishing with 80 yards on five catches, but he never reached the end zone. Hatcher was held to just 12 yards on two catches, a major departure from his usual production; he had not been held below 58 yards in any game this season.
Clemson countered with Eliot Washington II, the ACC leader in interceptions, and Hampton, who is regarded as the conference’s top cover corner and a sure-fire NFL draft pick. Syracuse has used both receivers in the slot to create favorable matchups, but Swinney said the Tigers stayed locked in on Hatcher and leaned on their best defenders.
“We just tried to keep Ashton on him, or Eliot, as much as we could,” Swinney said. “With as much as he moved around and changed the looks up, we just had a high alert on him.”
The secondary was also motivated by last season’s 34-21 Syracuse win at Clemson, a game in which Angeli carved up the Tigers for 245 yards and two touchdowns before suffering the Achilles injury. Swinney said that loss lingered with him, and he used it as a talking point with his team leading into Saturday.
Tait Reynolds said the message stuck.
“He talked about it quite a few times,” Clemson quarterback Tait Reynolds said. “I think they were already pissed off last year, so they had an edge.
“Only needed to say it one time. They remembered.”
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