By Will Vandervort.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney agreed with Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino that the noise in Syracuse’s Carrier Dome can get rather loud, but Swinney also mentioned that he did not get to hear it very long when the Tigers went up to Syracuse, N.Y. last October and totally dismantled the Orange, 49-14.
“It was loud up there – for a little while,” Swinney said Tuesday during his weekly press conference.
In fact it took just 38 seconds to quiet the crowd. That’s when former quarterback Tajh Boyd hit wide receiver Adam Humphries in stride for a 60-yard touchdown pass, still the longest play of Humphries’ career. The noise did not bother the Clemson offense too much as Boyd finished the day with a school-record 455 yards passing and five touchdowns.
The Tigers totaled 624 yards overall.
“I mean it was loud. It was very, very loud,” Swinney said. “You know we kind of hit some big plays early and then that changed. It was definitely a loud place.”
The 48,961 Syracuse fans that packed the Carrier Dome that afternoon were gone by the end of second quarter when Clemson took a 35-7 lead into the locker room. Those that stayed left shortly after Boyd found Sammy Watkins for a 91-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds left in the third quarter.
Petrino said on Monday that what his Cardinals heard in the Carrier Dome in last Friday’s 28-6 win at Syracuse will be similar to what they will hear when they visit Death Valley this Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
“That was a loud place,” he said. “I don’t know if it can get any louder, even though the crowd wasn’t that big. On that first third down, and everyone started screaming and yelling, maybe it can’t get any louder than that.”
The Carrier Dome had just 37,569 fans on hand to watch Louisville win its third ACC game of the season. Clemson is expecting more than 80,000 in the stands at Death Valley this Saturday and only 200 tickets remain.
“It’s something you look forward to and enjoy. It’s gonna be very similar to last week,” Petrino said.
“The stadium will be big. There will be a lot of people there,” he continued. “The field’s the same length. The goal posts are the same height. We have to go in and enjoy it. This is one of the things that’s exciting about being in the ACC – the venues we get to go play at. This is our first real experience in that.”
Clemson defensive tackle Grady Jarrett spoke about the noise level in Death Valley and explained, as a person who has played in a lot of big stadiums in his career, nothing compares to the noise or the atmosphere at Clemson.
“When we watch film, the camera is shaking,” the senior said. “We watch film in a whole lot of places and we ain’t ever seen nobody’s camera shaking, and every time we watch film in Death Valley the camera is shaking.
“It’s a special place to play in and we love it.”
The defense feeds off of it and so do the rest of the Tigers. Clemson (3-2, 2-1 ACC) shut out NC State in Death Valley last week to improve to 21-3 (.875) in home ACC games under Swinney – the third best mark in league history.
“We have a great environment here, that’s for sure,” said Swinney, whose Tigers have won 21 of their last 23 games at home.
“Those guys have played in a lot of great environments, tough places and stuff. They beat Florida – they have some big wins,” he continued. “I hope we sell those 200 tickets, I know that. I know this will be a great environment on Saturday for college football.”
And it is sure to be louder than the Carrier Dome.