Clemson vs. Syracuse Postgame Notes

Team Notes

• Clemson got the ball first, the 15th consecutive game the Tigers have gotten the ball first after the coin toss.
• Clemson is now 5-0 for the second time under Dabo Swinney. The Tigers were also 5-0 in 2011, the year the Tigers won the ACC Championship.
• Clemson now has 13 consecutive wins by at least 10 points against unranked opponents, the second longest streak in the nation behind Alabama, which has 22 in a row.
• Clemson has now won three in a row in domed stadiums to go to 7-5 overall. Dabo Swinney is 3-0 in domed stadiums.
• This was Clemson’s 10th consecutive ACC victory.
• Clemson is now 5-0 in games on artificial turf with Tajh Boyd at quarterback. 
• The 91-yard touchdown pass from Tajh Boyd to Sammy Watkins in the third period was the second longest play from scrimmage in Clemson history. The only one longer is a 97 yard pass from Mark Fellers to Craig Brantley against Virginia in 1974. It was obviously the longest pass play for Boyd and longest catch from Watkins.
• Clemson broke the school record for passing yards in a game with 466 passing yards.. The previous record was 433 against Wake Forest last year.
• This was Clemson’s first win in the state of New York. It is the 18th different state the Tigers have gained a victory.
• Clemson has held four consecutive opponents to 14 points or less, the first time Clemson has done that since 2000 when the first four opponents failed to score over 14.
• Clemson had four interceptions in a game for the first time since they had four against Florida State in 2009. But, it was the first time Clemson had at least four interceptions on defense on the road since the 1995 NC State game when the Tigers had six.

Player Notes

• Tajh Boyd won his 26th game as starting quarterback at Clemson to move into second place on the all-time list. He was tied with current San Diego Chargers quarterback Charlie Whitehurst. Only Rodney Williams has more wins than Boyd with 32. Boyd is 26-6 for his Clemson career and has won 16 of his last 18.
• Boyd broke his own Clemson record for passing yards in a game on the 91-yard pass completion to Sammy Watkins in the third period. It gave him 455 for the game. He did not play in the fourth quarter. He had the previous mark with 428 at Wake Forest last year.
• With 455 yards passing today, Boyd jumped from 10th to seventh in ACC history in passing yards. He now has 9502.
• Boyd needed just 29 yards of total offense to go over the 10,000 yard mark. He achieved that on his 60-yard touchdown pass to Adam Humphries in the first half. Boyd had 450 yards of total offense today and now has 10, 421 for his career.
• Boyd now has 107 touchdowns in his career rushing and passing. He needs just six to break Phillips Rivers ACC record.
• Today was Boyd’s third career 400-yard passing game, tying Stephen Morris of Miami fro the most among active ACC players.
• Boyd tied his own Clemson record for touchdown passes today with five. It is the firth time he has had five in a game. He did it in 2011 against North Carolina, 2012 against Wake Forest, Duke and NC State, and now 2013 against Syracuse. Cullen Harper also did it in 2007 against Louisiana Monroe and Central Michigan.
• Sammy Watkins had his 10th career 100-yard receiving game today with four catches for 123 yards. Nuk Hopkins has the Clemson record with 12. The touchdown was the 20th of Watkins career, 18 receiving, one rushing and one on a kickoff return.
• Darius Robinson had a career high two interceptions today. It is the first time a Clemson player has had two interceptions in a game since Jonathan Meeks had two last year against Virginia Tech. Meeks, now with the Buffalo Bills, was on the sidelines today along with NFL teammates Chris Hairston and C.J. Spilller.
• Adam Humphries had a career day with three catches for 118 yards and two scores. It was a career high for the junior in yards and touchdowns. He had all of it in the first quarter. Humphries also had 40 punt return yards, the most by a Tiger in over two years.
• Watkins and Adam Humphries both went over 100 yards receiving today, just the fifth time in Clemson history the Tigers have had two 100 yard receivers in the same game. The Tigers did it last year against NC state.
• Vic Beasley had two more sacks and four tackles for loss today. He now has eight sacks for the season, the same total he had last year when he ranked fourth in the ACC. He is one pace to break Keith Adams Clemson record of 16 set in 1999.
• Daniel Rodriguez caught a pass today. Four years ago today he was in a hospital in Afghanistan recovering from significant wounds suffered in the Battle of Kamdesh. He received a Purple Heart for his heroics for the battle that started on October 3, 2009.
• Chandler Catanzaro has scored at least one point in 45 consecutive games, every game of his career, a Clemson record. He has at least five points in 33 straight games.