Clemson Football is in unfamiliar territory after their 34-21 home loss to Syracuse over the weekend. Clemson has now started the season at 1-3 for the 1st time in over 20 years.
In Saturday's game, 'Cuse started strong marching 75 yards down the field to score and take a 7-0 lead. They then recovered an onside kick, which set up a short FG to give the Orange a 10-0 lead.
The Tigers got on the board with a 38 yard TD pass from Cade Klubnik to Bryan Wesco Jr. to make it 10-7. The Orange answered with a Will Nixon TD run to make it 17-7. They added another TD capping an 80 yard scoring drive that gave them a 24-7 advantage.
Clemson scored with just over a minute left in the 1st half to make it 24-14 at the break. A long weather delay then stalled the start of the 2nd half. Syracuse got a FG early in the 3rd to make it 27-14.
The Tigers turned it over on downs twice and fumbled once in the 3rd. Syracuse capitalized on the fumble and scored to take their largest lead of the game at 34-14 going into the 4th.
Clemson cut the lead to 13 with Wesco's 2nd TD catch of the game, to make it 34-21. However, the Syracuse defense shut the door forcing a Cade Klubnik interception and a turnover on downs to preserve the win.
The loss makes Clemson 0-2 in ACC play which matches the worst start in league play in the Dabo Swinney era. The Tigers started 0-2 in 2010, Dabo's 2nd full season on the job with losses to Miami and UNC.
The Tigers are off with a bye week and will travel to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina, October 4th.