SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Here is how Clemson graded in Saturday’s 37-27 victory over Syracuse. With the win, the Tigers improved to 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the ACC.
Quarterback: A
Deshaun Watson was once magnificent. The sophomore completed a career high 34 passes out of a career high 47 attempts for 360 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for game-high 101 yards and another score. It was the second straight week in which he ran for more than 100 yards in a game. Watson averaged 7.8 yards per carry.
Running back: A
Tony Elliott and Dabo Swinney said the Tigers did not run the football as much with their backs based on the looks Syracuse was giving them. But when they did run Wayne Gallman and Zac Brooks there was pretty good play from both. The two combined to rush for 104 yards on 20 carries, an average of 5.2 yards per carry.
Wide receivers: A
Clemson wideouts continue to get better. Charone Peake had a record day, recording a career-high seven catches for a career-high 120 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 64-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage. Freshman Deon Cain also came up big as he hauled in four passes for 67 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown pass from Watson. Artavis Scott had a career-high 12 receptions for 73 yards, while Germone Hopper grabbed five for 44 yards.
Offensive line: B
The offensive line played well for the most part. Yes, they did not allow a sack and the running game averaged 5.7 yards per carry. However, Watson played a big role in both numbers. His ability to avoid pressure and improvise helped the Tigers avoid huge losses. Syracuse brought pressure a lot and at times did affect a few of his incomplete passes.
Defensive line: C
You can’t blame all that happened in the running game on the defensive line, and we will get to that later. But they had just one sack on the day and when they did get to quarterback Zack Mahoney, he was able to shake them off and run for positive yards. They also allowed Mahoney to get on the edge a lot, which played a big role on his 76-yard, two touchdown day. Five of the Tigers eight tackles for loss did come from the defensive line.
Linebackers: D
Here is where some of the issues come from in the running game. Though B.J. Goodson finished with a game-high eight tackles, including two tackles for loss, Ben Boulware and Travis Blanks did not play well. Boulware had just four tackles, while Blanks had one. Blanks missed three tackles and two runs went for big gains. Boulware also had a couple of missed tackles. After the game, Brent Venables said his backers did not have good leverage or gap integrity.
Secondary: C
T.J. Green had an awful game. He dropped an interception, missed played a couple of long runs and had two missed tackles. Though he played better than Green, fellow safety Jayron Kearse over ran a couple of plays, too. The Tigers did hold Mahoney to 8 of 21 passing for 80 yards and his longest reception was 28 yards, but twice Syracuse receivers got behind coverage and Mahoney over threw them both times. Cornerback Mackensie Alexander was flagged for a second straight week for a pass interference penalty. He did, however, hold the Orange’s best receiver—Steve Ishmael—to one catch for 28 yards.
Special Teams: B
Greg Huegel continues to be money. He made three field goals of 38, 31 and 42 yards. He also made a fourth at the end of the game, but a Syracuse penalty took it away so the Tigers could sit on the ball and run out the clock. He has made 13 straight kicks and is 15 of 15 against ACC competition. Punter Andy Teasdall averaged 34 yards on three punts, but he kept the ball away from Brisly Estime, who leads the ACC and ranks second in the nation in punt returns. Kearse blocked a field goal. The Tigers continue to struggle on kickoff and punt returns. Hopper returned two punts for two yards, while C.J. Fuller had just 108 yards on six kickoff returns. Clemson did a much better job on kickoff and punt coverage.
Coaches: B
Dabo Swinney warned his team Syracuse was going to play hard, and obviously they did not listen. The offense played great. Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott called a great game as the offense totaled 566 yards, the sixth straight week the offense had 500 or more yards in a game. Venables took the blame for his defense giving up 242 rushing yards to a Syracuse rushing attack that was average at best heading into Saturday’s game. Venables said he did not have the defense prepared to play.