(Photo by Nate Shron/Getty Images)
Syracuse was 6-0 and ranked #14 coming into a big game at top 10 ranked and 7-0 Clemson.
Clemson has been the standard in the ACC since 2015, and one of the premier programs in the country for a decade.
Syracuse had a chance Saturday to prove they were for real. Critics or let me say folks that don’t follow the ACC questioned their schedule and their results.
ACC observers knew better. Syracuse was a good football team, maybe not a great one, but a good one. They had a stingy opportunistic defense, the one of the best RBs in the ACC – Sean Tucker, a go-to receiver in Oronde Gadsden, and sneaky good QB Garrett Shrader. They had already beaten a decent Purdue team, and a NC State team that even without QB Devin Leary was dangerous.
Saturday Syracuse and HC Dino Babers gave everything Clemson wanted and more. Syracuse has a recent history of giving Clemson fits. Saturday was no different.
The Orange went into Death Valley and took advantage of several Clemson miscues to take a 21-7 2nd quarter. That lead held up through the 4th quarter before Clemson pulled ahead 27-21.
Syracuse took their final drive inside the Clemson 35 and had a chance to win until a game-saving interception by the Tigers.
It’s tough to win at Clemson. They’ve won a whopping 38 straight home games against opponents that have included ranked teams from the ACC, SEC, and Notre Dame. Syracuse very nearly pulled the trick, and while moral victories don’t mean much, the Cuse proved beyond a shadow of a doubt they are a good tough hard-nosed football team.
Pollsters that severely penalize Syracuse’s effort simply don’t follow college football. How could they?
Syracuse plays a top 5 team on the road to the game’s final seconds? Other than doing something nobody has done since the mid-2010s what else can Syracuse do to prove themselves after a 6-1 start?
I’m going to just assume the pollsters have common sense. Now for next week, Syracuse gets a chance to further prove themselves against a talented, but erratic Notre Dame team at the JMA Wireless Dome.
I wouldn’t bet against Syracuse in that one. Dino Babers will have them ready.
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