CLEMSON – Syracuse head coach Fran Brown gave the Clemson Tigers a loan, and he came to collect on his investment at Memorial Stadium Saturday. 

Last season, Brown and his Orange squad stunned ACC-leader Miami with an upset-win in the final week of the regular season. Incidentally, the win knocked the Clemson Tigers into the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, as they had the next best record in conference-play. 

“Dabo Swinney! I got you in, baby!,” Brown immediately said in a postgame interview with a smile after taking down Heisman candidate Cam Ward and his Hurricanes.

Brown’s public proclamation quickly became viral. After Clemson won the title game, qualifying  for the College Football Playoff as a result, Swinney told media members that Brown would be invited on Clemson’s parade float if the Tigers won the national title. 

“If we win the national championship, he’s going to be riding in the car with me through downtown Clemson,” Swinney said. “Just go ahead and print that right now.”

Though Swinney and the Tigers were eliminated in the first round of the Playoff to SEC opponent Texas, this “bromance” continued through the offseason. Brown joked that he would score 35 or 40 points on Swinney in a basketball game. Swinney said he wanted to bring the Orange’s coach a bottle of wine. Both coaches talked at length about their mutual respect in media appearances.

“I like Fran, man,” Swinney said. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know him. What a great job he’s done. They’re a tough football team.”

“I think that football team we’re playing is one of the best in the country,” Brown said later of Swinney’s Clemson team.

But when Syracuse came to Clemson to play their first matchup in two years, pleasantries were nonexistent, at least coming from the Orange. Syracuse handed Clemson a 34-21 loss, while out-muscling the Tigers in every aspect of the game.

Brown and his team forced two turnovers, shredded the Tigers’ defense, and ultimately left Clemson fans wondering how the reigning ACC Champion could not stop, or move the ball against a conference opponent they had beat six consecutive times.

With the win, Syracuse picked up its first win at Memorial Stadium in history, and the Tigers fell to 1-3 (0-2 ACC) for the first time in over twenty years. 

Unlike the twist of fate or luck that allowed Clemson to reap the benefits of Syracuse’s favor last year, the Orange needed no favors to beat the Tigers and improve to 3-1 and 1-0 in ACC-play. The squad scored on four of their first six possessions, forced Clemson to punt three times, and forced a fumble and two turnovers on downs.

The Orange was the better team Saturday, and while Clemson made many mistakes of its own, Brown’s team did not need any help or tricks to take down the ACC champion that they helped to create. The Orange victory proved that “getting Dabo in,” really was a short-term favor.

Instead, Syracuse’s win ensures that the Tigers are probably “out,” of championship contention.