Pesky Syracuse threw the kitchen sink at the top-ranked team in the country, and Clemson was able to hang on for a 37-27 breathless victory Saturday in front of a season-high crowd of 36,736 fans at the Carrier Dome.
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Syracuse dropped its seventh straight game, the longest losing streak since SU lost nine consecutive games in 2005, but not without a fight.
The Tigers offense, led by quarterback Deshaun Watson, has been on fire in recent weeks and will look to continue that success against a Syracuse defense that gives up an average of 438.0 yards per game.
Today’s Clemson Tigers vs Syracuse Orange college football game has a start time schedule of 3:30pm eastern time and airs on TV channel ABC in a few regions and on ESPN2 in others.
Syracuse made a game of it from the start, repeatedly finding gaping holes in the Clemson defensive line. He added 101 rushing yards and a third score on the ground.
Mahoney quarterbacked the Orange during its 10-point loss to LSU earlier this season.
A pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, including one on a furious Scott Shafer, set the Orange back in the fourth quarter. He had one touchdown, 61 yards and four catches.
Mahoney, fifth on the depth chart in preseason, acquitted himself well in his debut in September, throwing for three TDs against then-No. He was 8 of 21 for 80 yards passing. In that game, Syracuse’s Dungey had 158 yards passing, two interceptions, not touchdowns.
Clemson appeared poised for another rout, scoring twice in the first two minutes.
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Watson hit Peake with a 64-yard pass on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage and Gallman scored from the 11 on the next play for a 7-0 lead after just 33 seconds. Clemson (10-0) remains undefeated and will likely stay on as the top team in the nation for another week.
