Story and Photo by Emily Dick.
So why did Syracuse Head Coach Scott Shafer apologize to
fans after a hard-fought 16-6 loss to the Tigers?
“I apologize to the Syracuse faithful because we’re going to
get this thing right and we’re going to beat these teams eventually,” Shafer
said. “We’re just a little bit away right now, but we’re going to get this
thing right.”
Strong Start
The Orange (3-5, 1-3 ACC) and the Tigers (6-2, 5-1 ACC) started the game trading drives
back and forth three times when suddenly, Syracuse started making plays.
“There were times I couldn’t hear myself think because it
was that loud in there,” said freshman quarterback AJ Long, who was making his second career start for the Orange.
On Clemson’s first play of its third drive, quarterback Cole
Stoudt’s pass was intercepted by cornerback Brandon Reddish. For a moment,
Death Valley went silent.
Long then led the Orange down the field with three
consecutive completions to Ervin Phillips, Jarrod West, and Ashton Broyld for
eight, eight, and 23 yards respectively.
The Orange chipped away at the fifth-ranked Clemson defense,
in what fans call the “No Fly Zone.”
Ten plays later, it was up to freshman kicker Cole Murphy.
He nailed a 43-yard field goal, and just like that, the Orange was leading
Clemson 3-0.
The Tigers answered later in the second quarter, with a
12-play drive, but were stopped short by the Syracuse defense and forced to
kick a 38-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3.
Clemson had the ball with 1:22 left in the half when Stoudt
fumbled in Tiger territory. Syracuse’s Dyshawn Davis recovered and the Orange
later sent out Murphy, who then made a career long 50-yard field goal as time
expired in the first half.
The Syracuse Orange was leading the Clemson Tigers, in Death
Valley, 6-3 at halftime.
“I can’t look them in the eyes”
That 6-3 halftime Orange lead slipped away in the second
half as the offense was unable to put any more points on the board for
Syracuse.
"I can't look them in the eyes," Long said of his
defense. "Your job is to get points on the board, and knowing that you
didn't get your job done, and seeing how they played, you just — you have no
words. You can't look them in the eye and say, 'I'm sorry,' because at the end
of the day you have one job. And if you don't get that done, I mean, what are
you really doing?"
Clemson fought back with two field goals and an early fourth
quarter touchdown, the only one of the game, to lead the Orange 16-6.
With just over 10 minutes left in the game, Syracuse had a
chance to make it a one-possession game with a 42-yard field goal attempt, but
Murphy missed it, wide right.
The score never changed and the game ended after a 15-play,
eight minute Clemson drive down the field to the Syracuse eight-yard line. The
Tigers had third down with one yard to go and 30 seconds on the clock, and took a knee.
“As long as we have one more point than the opponent, that’s
all that matters. We got it done,” Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney said after
the game.
Syracuse Defense Makes Statement
A loss is a loss, but the Syracuse defense had an impressive
outing with 80 team tackles, two forced fumbles and two interceptions.
“I was proud of the way our defense played,” Shafer said.
“When we needed a stop, we stopped them in some crucial situations and kept
giving ourselves a chance to get the win.”
Senior linebacker, Cameron Lynch led the Orange with 10
tackles, two for a loss, but he doesn’t put sole blame on the offense.
“We let up a touchdown. We could’ve kept them to fewer
points. It’s hard to look my own defense in the eye,” Lynch said.
Coming Up…
“We're going mano-a-mano with these teams that have a little
bit more talent than us right now," Shafer said. “But we’re going to get
there. We’re going to continue to get better, but I love our kids and the way
they fight.”
The Syracuse Orange takes on North Carolina State (4-4, 0-4 ACC) in
the Dome Saturday, November 1.
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