Justin Mascoll and his Clemson teammates are tired of hearing how they have lost their swagger.

“We just wanted to come out and get our respect back,” the defensive end said.

They definitely got some respect on Saturday at the JMA Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., especially on defense. Thanks to Mascoll’s ball-jarring hit on Orange quarterback Garrett Shrader on the game’s fourth play, the Clemson defense set the tone on what kind of day it was going to be in Upstate New York.

The Tigers sacked Shrader five times, caused him to fumble twice—losing one—and picked him off once. In all, the Syracuse quarterback was harassed, beat up and humbled in a 31-14 Clemson victory.

“We won the line of scrimmage. We did a heck of a job upfront,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.

Shrader was averaging 322 total yards per game coming into Saturday’s contest. However, against the Tigers’ he managed just 205 total yards, while completing just 15-of-29 passes for 181 yards. He did throw two touchdown passes, but the Clemson defense won way more times than it lost against the 6-foot-4, 230-pound quarterback.

“He is a great competitor. He is fearless,” Mascoll said. “The game plan was to make sure he does not rush over 100 yards because in the past four games, he was able to do that.”

He did not even come close against the Tigers. Clemson held the Orange’s leading rusher to 24 yards on 15 carries.

“We did a nice job,” Swinney said. “I think we won the matchups up front and created some disruption. We challenged them. We forced the issue. We held up well on the outside.”

Overall, Syracuse totaled just 286 yards of offense, the fourth straight week the Clemson defense held the opposition under 300 yards in regulation.

“I feel like we are definitely getting our swagger back for sure,” Mascoll said. “The confidence is there and the energy. Coach Swinney told us to keep the energy on the sideline. He has been preaching he really wants to see that swagger.

“As leaders on this team, that’s what we have to bring. We have to bring it to practice, and it will show in games if we bring it at practice.”

It showed on Saturday and showed right from the start.

“I feel like on that play, we were able to set the tone and we just brought it. We just kept coming and kept coming,” Mascoll said.

And they never stopped.

“Defensively, they were relentless. They were outstanding,” Swinney said.

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