The top-ranked Tigers might have won big but that doesn’t change the fact that this one was ugly. The offense just wasn’t sharp today. Lawrence was off, despite having decent numbers and the offensive line play was not up to par, but the Tigers still was able to pull away and win 47-21.
Rapid Reactions:
- Very lethargic looking effort on offense. The offensive line just did not play well. This is a defensive front the Tigers should have dominated and that just did not happen. After allowing more than 300 rushing yards in three straight games, the Orange held the Clemson running game in check most of the day. No, it wasn’t completely shut down as the Tigers had 147 rushing yards, but this is a team Clemson should be running at will on. This offensive line needs to be better than what we have seen.
- One of those young wide receivers has to step up and show he can be that guy who can make a play down the field when it is needed most. Outside of Amari Rodgers, the Tigers receivers got worked over in this one. They just could not get the downfield passing game going. Very little separation. Fortunately, Syracuse didn’t have much of an answer for the screen game.
- Trevor Lawrence was off of his game today and was still able to hit on 63% of his passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who had an off day and got little help from his receivers. He threw the first pick six of his career that allowed the Orange to keep this thing competitive longer than it should have been.
- This defense is so much better when Tyler Davis is on the field. He creates so much havoc at the point of attack and the Tigers missed that today. This Syracuse team was one of the worst in the country when it comes to protecting the quarterback so we saw a ton of the quick passing game from the Orange, but still, didn’t get as much pressure as I thought they would.
- This defense still held the Orange to just 7 points and 325 yards of offense, with 80 plus coming on the one long touchdown pass. Syracuse wasn’t able to muster a ton of offense and were just 4-13 on third down and 0-1 on fourth down.
- Good to see this defense forcing some turnovers. The Tigers forced four today including a big momentum changing scoop and score by Andrew Booth Jr. With the way the offense was playing that is exactly what Clemson needed in this one.
- Man, how good was it to see Xavier Thomas getting extended playing time this season. This team will need him down the stretch.
- Overall, just a sloppy performance for the most part. Something Clemson fans have come to expect once a year out of this program. On the bright side, the coaches have a lot of film to teach from and this one will only make this team better as we get into the stretch run of the season.
