CLEMSON — Earlier in the week, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke very highly on how tough and physical Syracuse played under second-year head coach Fran Brown.

The Orange displayed that in their 34-21 win over Clemson Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Syracuse ran for 155 yards, including 123 yards in the first half as it build a 17-point second quarter lead.

After the game, Swinney was asked about his own team’s toughness after suffering their third loss in four games this season.

“I did not think it was great in the first half, defensively,” Swinney said. “Obviously, because we did not stop the run. I do not know if that is physical toughness as much as it is execution, fundamentally.”

The Tigers (1-3, 0-2 ACC) held Syracuse to 32 rushing yards in the second half.

“In the second half, I thought they battled their butts off,” Swinney said. “It was a physical game and we held them to three points outside of the fumble.”

Clemson’s offense tallied 503 total yards, making it just the third time in the program’s history it lost a game when tallying 500-plus yards.

“We had 500 and something yards, but you have to finish plays,” Swinney said.