SYRACUSE, N.Y. — At 9-0 and staring an ACC Championship and possible College Football Playoff bid right in the face, top-ranked Clemson has the gas pedal all the way down and there will be no special treatment for anyone left on the schedule.

That includes Saturday’s opponent, Syracuse.

The Orange (3-6, 1-4 ACC) enters the ACC Atlantic Division tussle wounded after suffering their sixth consecutive loss last week at Louisville. They have given 41 or more points in four of their last five games, and starting quarterback Eric Dungey—arguably their best offensive player—will not play due to a concussion.

“The gas pedal is down. Every game is a big game because if we lose this game, then what,” Clemson running back Zac Brooks said. “There is no sympathy for anybody. Everybody is going to get the same treatment. We are going to go out and do what we do best, and we will win.”

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables says it is all pretty simple.

“If this is what you say you want, then this is what you have to do,” he said. “If you don’t do that then you are not going to get what you want.”

It’s all about having respect for the game and for the opponent, something Venables says a few of the players lacked when the defense gave up 41 points at NC State on Oct. 31.

“I think they can see the light at the end of the tunnel sort of speak and I think they can truly see what is sitting in front of them if they don’t do X,Y, and Z,” Venables said. “If they don’t do X, Y, and Z that is why you see teams losing.

“Every year it is that way. That is why it is so hard to keep that focus, that hunger, that edge, that lack of satisfaction, not allowing distractions. That’s the challenge. That was the challenge put in front of them. If you really want it, it is doable and it is going to be really hard. But here is what you have to do. If you don’t do it, then you are going to be on the outside looking in, and you are going to have a life of regret.”

Venables says so many things have gone the Tigers way this year, and if that was not the case, then they might not be at this point. That’s why it’s important to respect the game and understand what it has taken for them to get where they are right now and what it will take to get where they want to be.

“As I look at Syracuse, they are a team that absolutely has to win this week to have a chance to go to a bowl game,” he said. “They have every trick known to man in their kicking game … onside kick, fake punts, fake field goals and they have all worked. They’ve worked against us so they better be on high alert and we need to play really, really well going up to their place.”

Brooks says the Tigers will be ready for anything Syracuse throws their way.

“We just know we have our goals and we have to take it one day at a time,” he said. “We are doing the best that we can do on that day. Eventually, we will make our goals. We know what lies ahead and we know the situation that we are in, but in a day all of that can be gone.

“We just take every day and do the best we can.”

That one day at time approach, and really buying into it, is what has been the difference in this team, says Brooks, than in some others he has been on.

“We have a lot of guys that really want to win,” the Clemson running back said. “In the past, we had a few guys that were being real selfish. There were some ‘Me’ guys. But this team, everybody is in it. Everybody wants to win, and everybody wants to get the job done for each other, for their brothers.

“I feel like that is the biggest thing this year. Everybody is playing for each other.”

That and they have the gas pedal pressed all the way down.