Heavily-Favored Clemson Shakes Off Some Struggles to Down Syracuse 47-21

No. 1 Clemson knocks off Syracuse despite a few hiccups along the way and improves to 6-0 behind three Travis Etienne touchdowns.

No. 1 Clemson overcame some shaky moments as a 47-point favorite to eventually put Syracuse away in the fourth quarter for a 47-21 victory on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. 

The Tigers have scored 37 or more points in their first six games for the first time in school history, despite not playing their best football in this one. Clemson looked lethargic at times with some dropped passes and missed opportunities against one of the most struggling teams in the ACC, but the Tigers still put up 455 yards of offense and produced 27 first downs.

The Tigers had a punt blocked and gave up a pick-6 on a pass from Trevor Lawrence. Running back Travis Etienne scored three times on the ground, and Lawrence threw two touchdowns to help Clemson improve to 6-0 while sending the Orange to 1-5 on the season. 

Without three key starters, the Clemson defense stepped up with four takeaways and a touchdown of its own. The Orange trailed by just six points in the third quarter and finished with 325 total yards while hitting two plays of more than 60 yards.

Key play: Up 27-21 late in the third quarter, Bryan Bresee forced a fumble that was scooped up by Andrew Booth and returned for a touchdown to give the Tigers a more comfortable 13-point margin they could build upon.

Player of the game: Etienne gutted out a nice day despite coming off the field multiple times with undisclosed injury issues. He had TD runs of 25, 9 and 1 yards, and he finished with 86 yards on 16 carries. Etienne also added 20 receiving yards, and he'll need 43 rushing yards next week to become the ACC's all-time leading rusher. 

Freshman impact: Bresee added half a sack to his forced fumble stat line and finished with two tackles for the Tigers. 

Coaches decision: After Lawrence threw a pick-6 with 1:18 remaining to cut Clemson's lead to 24-14, head coach Dabo Swinney could've elected to run out the clock and head to the locker room to avoid any more mistakes. Instead, the Tigers produced an 11-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a 36-yard field goal by B.T. Potter and a 13-point halftime lead. 

Stat of the game: Clemson's defense had interceptions by Nolan Turner, Jayln Phillips and Mike Jones Jr. to give it nine picks in the last four games. It's the most interceptions in a four-game stretch for the Tigers since 2009. 

Up next: Clemson plays its second consecutive home game next week at noon when Boston College comes to town. The Eagles hosted Georgia Tech on Saturday looking to improve upon their 3-2 record.

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page.

Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter