CLEMSON – The Clemson Tigers scored on only one of eight offensive possessions and had three turnovers on downs in the second half of a 34-21 loss to Syracuse at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Although quarterback Cade Klubnik finished with 363 passing yards, his season-high by 133 yards, and all three of the Tigers’ touchdowns, his 37 completions on 60 attempts were not enough to ensure a Clemson victory.

After the Orange (3-1, 1-0 ACC) opened the game with a touchdown, the visitors recovered possession with a surprise onside kick, which led to a 10-0 deficit before the Tigers’ offense had a chance to construct a drive. Klubnik believes this lack of complementary football hurt his team’s chances early in the game.

“That didn’t help,” the senior said about the onside kick. “We got to play as a team. Complementary football is where we have not shined. When defense has been playing great, we haven’t done great on offense and vice versa.”

Issues with complementary football are often chalked up to problems with team compatibility or chemistry, yet the Tigers returned the majority of their starters from last season, adding only one new starter from last year’s lineup.

Saturday’s loss to Syracuse dropped Clemson to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the ACC. It marks the first time the program has started a season 1-3 since 2004 and the first time its 0-2 in the ACC since 2010.

Some of these returners are Klubnik’s top four wide receiver targets, highlighted by senior Antonio Williams and sophomores Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore. This week, Williams, who was the Tigers’ reception leader last season, returned from a hamstring injury to catch five passes for 49 yards. Still, the familiarity was not enough to ensure successful drives.

 “We got all the ingredients and just not really baking the cake,” Klubnik said. “It’s hard to see. Really proud of how we fought, but yeah, eight possessions, one score, that’s not good enough.”

A large part of the struggle to score was the Tigers’ inability to convert third downs. Klubnik and the offense converted only three third downs in 13 attempts, and only one third-and-long (9+ yards). Additionally, Syracuse dominated possession time in the first half, giving the offense no chance to find a rhythm. However, head coach Dabo Swinney believes that Klubnik still found a way to compete despite these shortcomings.

“I thought Cade competed his butt off,” Swinney said. “He certainly missed a couple plays, but he made some good ones, too. Made a lot of good ones. I thought he was good in the first half. Just again, couldn’t really get the ball.” 

Throughout 2024, the Tigers only trailed for 147 minutes across 14 games. This season, Clemson has trailed for 133 minutes in only four games, showcasing a lack of scoring consistency. While Clemson trailed the entire game against Syracuse, Klubnik still believes it was the offense’s best showing so far this season.

“I feel like it was our best game offensively,” he said. “I feel like we played great. There’s just a few times where ten guys were doing their job instead of 11 and that’s hard.”

Clemson will now have two weeks to prepare to play North Carolina on Oct. 4. Swinney believes the best course of action to prepare for the Tar Heels is to flush the Syracuse loss.

“We got to flush it,” he said. “That’s all we can do. And there’s no hope for a better yesterday. You got to put your head forward, block out everything and just do the work, and that’s what we’ll do.”