The Syracuse Orange entered into their home match-up with the Clemson Tigers at 4-0 for the second-consecutive season.
Clemson, conversely, found themselves at 2-2 coming into the JMA Dome, a team atypical for having two losses in an entire season, let alone two losses in the first four games.
Syracuse has defeated Clemson within these walls when the Tigers came in in a very different situation, back on October 14, 2027, by a score of 27-24 versus a Tigers' team that was coming off of a National Championship and was ranked #2 in the country.
In this match-up, the Orange turned the ball over early, when senior quarterback Garrett Shrader put it on the ground immediately after the team achieved their initial first down. The ball was recovered by junior defensive tackle Payton Page for the Tigers.
Sophomore quarterback Cade Klubnik went 3-for-5 on Clemson's first drive, ending with a 14-yard touchdown pass to redshirt-sophomore quarterback Troy Stellato, making it 7-0 at the 10:03 mark of the first quarter.
Each team would go three-and-out on their next drives.
With 6:35 left to play in the first quarter, Shrader would try to toss the ball by the line of scrimmage to sophomore running back LeQuint Allen, Jr., who did not come up with it. Due to the fact that the ball hit the ground behind the line of scrimmage, the ball was live. Redshirt-senior defensive end Xavier Thomas recovered the ball and advanced to the Orange three-yard line.
Clemson junior running back Will Shipley would carry the ball for one yard and then gain the final two on his next run to elevate the Tigers up to a 14-0 lead with 5:53 remaining in the opening quarter.
Shrader would go 4-for-5 on the following Syracuse possession, completing half of those passes to redshirt-sophomore tight end Dan Villari, one for a 37-yard gain and the second for the 28-yard touchdown. On both plays, Villari fought for yards after the catch, muscling his way forward, including pulling his defenders with him into the end zone to bring the score to 14-7 Clemson in the first quarter with 2:26 left on the clock. This would be Villari's first-ever collegiate touchdown.
Villari, a former quarterback who transferred from the Michigan Wolverines, attempted a pass after his first reception, which hit redshirt-freshman wide receiver Donovan Brown in the hands, but Brown did not reel it in.
The Tigers would take their next drive into the second quarter, but it would end on a sack by redshirt-senior defensive end Caleb Okechukwu for a nine-yard loss that would aid in sending the ball back to the Orange with under just under 14 minutes remaining before halftime.
A false start was the difference in a new set of downs versus punting the ball away, with Syracuse losing five yards on the penalty and concluding their drive on 4th-&-5 for a three-and-out.
Klubnik would throw the ball out-of-bounds on third down and it looked like Clemson would punt. However, an unsportsmanlike penalty was called on junior linebacker Marlowe Wax, Jr., who bumped Klubnik when he was already out-of-bounds, seemingly saying something to him, which granted the Tigers 15 yards and a new set of downs.
Orange redshirt-sophomore linebacker Leon Lowery, Jr., bailed out the team, taking Klubnik down on 4th-&-1, causing a turnover on downs with the Orange getting the ball on their own 12.
Syracuse would take their next possession to the Clemson 39-yard line. The play clock would run down to the final seconds, with sophomore kicker Brady Denaburg missing his first attempt of the game, from 57 yards out.
After two incompletions, Klubnik would keep the ball himself for a 14-yard gain and new set of downs.
On the very next play, Klubnik aired it out, finding junior wide receiver Beaux Collins in stride after he stutter-stepped his defender, for a 47-yard touchdown to bring the score to 21-7 Tigers with 2:23 remaining in the first half, a score that would hold to the half.
Syracuse was marred by mistakes in the first half, with the two aforementioned fumbles, both lost, and double the amount of penalties to what Clemson had, six to three.
The Tigers ended their first drive of the second half with a 38-yard field goal off the foot of redshirt-senior Jonathan Weitz to climb Clemson up to a 17-point advantage, 24-7, at the 11:03 mark of the third quarter.
Later on in the quarter, Wax had his hands on what looked like a pick-six, but the ball thrown by Klubnik ricocheted off of Wax's hands.
The Orange did, however, eventually force the Tigers to punt on this drive.
Clemson would fumble within the first minute of the final quarter, with junior tight end Jake Briningstool putting the ball on the ground and redshirt-freshman cornerback Jayden Bellamy chasing it down and returning the ball 20 yards to the Clemson 42-yard line.
The fumble recovery would be reviewed to see if Bellamy kept his right foot in when he grabbed the ball. After review, the call was upheld, with Syracuse gaining possession.
Shrader would find junior wide receiver Damien Alford for a 35-yard pass play to the Tigers' three-yard line.
The Orange would bring in defensive linemen to aid the push from a few yards out to no avail, and a false-start penalty rolled the Orange backward to the Tigers' six-yard line for 3rd-&-6.
Shrader responded by airing out to Allen for a six-yard touchdown to bring Syracuse within 10, 24-14, with 12:23 to play.
The Orange would force 4th-&-11, but on the punt, they would be flagged for running into the kicker. Luckily for Syracuse, the five-yard penalty they endured did not result in a first down, and they would still receive the ball.
However, Shrader would toss the ball over the middle and it would be intercepted by junior middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., giving the ball right back to Clemson.
Junior running back Phil Mafah would burst through traffic on the Tigers' first offensive play, heading into the end zone on a 32-yard run to rise to a 31-14 advantage with 6:38 on the game clock.
The Orange would not attempt a single pass downfield on the next drive until Shrader forced one on fourth down as he was trying to elude a sack, resulting in a turnover-on-downs.
Redshirt-sophomore backup quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson came in for the final drive for Syracuse as the clock ran down to zeroes in a 17-point loss, 31-14.
With the loss, the Orange endured their first blemish of the season overall and at home in their first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) test of 2023, moving to 4-1 overall, 3-1 at home, and 0-1 in ACC play.
The Tigers gain their first road win of the season, now at 1-1, while rising above .500 overall at 3-2 and gain their first ACC victory of 2023, now at 1-2.
On Offense:
Klubnik went 23-for-37 for 263 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Shrader finished 15-for-28 for 181 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
Shipley ran for 62 yards on 17 carries, with one touchdown and Mafah attained 38 yards on six carries, also with a rushing score.
Allen had 52 yards on 14 carries for Syracuse.
Freshman wide receiver Tyler Brown led all receivers on both teams with 151 yards, coming on eight catches.
Villari led all Orange receivers with 65 yards on two catches.
On Defense:
Junior defensive back Justin Barron led all defenders with eight tackles (six solo), followed by Wax with seven tackles (five solo).
Clemson junior linebacker Barrett Carter and Trotter, Jr., equaled Wax, with seven total tackles apiece.
Lowery, Jr., had two sacks and Okechukwu amounted one against Klubnik.
On Special Teams:
Weitz went 1-for-2 on his field-goal tries for the Tigers.
Denaburg was 0-for-1 for the Orange.