By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort.
Here is an inside look at the Clemson-Syracuse series as the No. 20 Clemson Tigers host the Syracuse Orange in Death Valley at 7 p.m.
The game will be televised by ESPNU.
About the Syracuse Orange: The Orange is 2-0 in true road games this season and is coming off its first ACC win of the year, beating Wake Forest, 30-7, at BB&T Field last week in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Orange’s offense: Quarterback A.J. Long became the first true freshman quarterback in Syracuse history to win his starting debut. He completed 22-of-32 passes for 171 yards and scored the first rushing touchdown of his career. His 22 completions were the most in a game by an SU true freshman signal caller, eclipsing the previous mark of 18 set by Todd Norley vs. Maryland in 1982. Due to injury, the Orange has used six different offensive line combinations in seven games, yet they have allowed just five sacks this season, which is fourth nationally and second in the ACC behind Duke.
The Orange’s defense: Weakside linebacker Cameron Lynch is the top defender for Syracuse. He is fourth in the ACC in sacks with 5.5 and he has a team best 53 tackles overall, 15th best in the ACC. Syracuse scored two touchdowns on defensive returns at Wake Forest. Defensive end Robert Welsh was selected as the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week as he scored one of the Orange’s two defensive touchdowns against the Demon Deacons. He intercepted the second pass of his career and returned it 42 yards to extend the Syracuse lead to 17-7 with 5:05 to play in the opening half. In addition, Welsh notched three tackles, tied his personal best with 2.0 tackles for loss and broke up a pass to finish with a game-high two passes defended.
Records: Clemson 5-2, 4-1 ACC; Syracuse 3-4, 1-2 ACC
Series record: Tied 1-1
Last year: Clemson won 49-14
First meeting: 1996 Gator Bowl: Syracuse won 41-0
Stat worth noting: Clemson is 24-2 since 1978 when a team makes its first visit to Memorial Stadium. The Tigers beat Louisville, 23-17 on Oct. 11 – it was the Cardinals first trip to Death Valley. This will be Syracuse’s first trip to Clemson for a football game.
Second stat worth noting: Since 2000, when Clemson’s starting offensive line has gone the distance the Tigers are 6-0. Two of those six wins have occurred in the last two games as the starting O-line played all 73 snaps against Louisville and all 81 at Boston College last week.
Third stat worth noting: The Clemson defense has forced a three-and-out on all seven of its opponents’ opening possessions this year. In the 25 plays opponents have run on their opening possession, 20 have gone for losses.
Memorable game: Just when it looked like Syracuse might make things interesting, Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins made absolutely sure there would be no late drama in the Carrier Dome in last year’s second ever meeting between the two schools.
Late in the third quarter, Syracuse was driving inside the red zone and looking to trim a 21-point deficit. Instead, the Clemson defense stopped Syracuse on downs. Two plays later, Boyd went over the top to Watkins for a 91-yard passing touchdown that put the game away, as the third-ranked Tigers rolled to a 49-14 victory in the second all-time meeting against the Orange and the first in the Carrier Dome.
The play gave Boyd 455 passing yards in the game to set a school record. He completed 20 of 27 passes with five passing touchdowns, none bigger than the final one to Watkins.
Watkins finished the game with four catches for a game-high 126 yards, while fellow junior Adam Humphries had three catches for 118 yards and two scores.