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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Clemson’s defense scored a touchdown and secured an interception in the end zone with 6:48 to play in the fourth quarter to propel Clemson (6-3, 4-2 ACC) to an 18-13 win at Syracuse (4-5, 2-5 ACC) at the JMA Dome on Saturday. The win was the 118th career regular season conference win for Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney, breaking Bobby Bowden's ACC record of 117.
Jahiem Lawson was critical on each takeaway, returning a fumble for a 22-yard touchdown, and also hitting Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli as he threw to cause the ball to flutter to cornerback Ashton Hampton in the end zone to stop a late red-zone threat.
The Tigers again turned to freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds on the ground, as the freshman picked up a critical third-and-8 with 2:51 to play and added a 13-yard rush to ice the game. The win was Clemson’s sixth in a row in league road contests.
Clemson amassed 359 yards of total offense, led by Reynolds’ 161 passing yards and 61 yards rushing. Bryant Wesco Jr. led the team with 100 receiving yards and also added a 36-yard pass completion to T.J. Moore. Jarvis Green led the Tigers with 85 rushing yards. Kicker Nolan Hauser added four made field goals in the contest, including a 54-yarder.
Hampton recorded the Tigers’ lone interception while also leading the team with eight solo tackles. Kourtney Kelly, Amare Adams and Lawson all recorded sacks for the Tigers’ defense.
The Tigers received the opening kickoff and opened the game with a career-long 53-yard rush by Green that brought the Tigers to the Syracuse 22-yard line. Nolan Hauser converted a 32-yard field goal to get the Tigers' first points of the game with 12:30 left in the first quarter.
After Syracuse answered with a 26-yard field goal to even the score, Clemson’s offense quickly responded with a five-play, 57-yard drive that resulted in a 36-yard Hauser field goal and gave the Tigers back the lead, 6-3. Reynolds connected with Wesco for 53 yards on the drive’s first play to again get Clemson into scoring position, their second-longest connection of the season.
The beginning of the second quarter saw both teams exchange scoreless drives before Syracuse converted a 46-yard field goal to even the score 6-6.
The back-and-forth continued on the Tigers' next drive. Wesco caught a backward pass from Reynolds before connecting with T.J. Moore for a 36-yard gain. It set up Hauser’s third made field goal of the game, a 37-yarder, as the Tigers regained the lead, 9-6, heading into the half.
After stopping the Orange on the opening drive of the second half, Clemson drove down the field and converted a key fourth down on the Syracuse 43-yard line to keep the drive alive. Hauser made his fourth field goal of the game — a 54-yarder that was his school-record fourth field goal of 50 or more yards this season — to extend the lead to 12-6.
The first touchdown of the game came from the Tiger defense. Kelly sacked Angeli for a loss of 10 yards, forcing a fumble that Jahiem Lawson recovered and scored to make the lead 18-6 with 6:49 left in the third quarter.
Clemson forced punts on Syracuse’s next two drives. The Orange drove down the field on their next possession, getting to the Clemson three-yard line, until Hampton interception in the end zone on a throw affected by Lawson gave the ball back to the Tigers.
Syracuse scored the only offensive touchdown of the game on a five-play, 74-yard drive. After a 33-yard touchdown reception by Daunte Bacheyie, a successful extra point conversion by Syracuse kicker Tripp Woody made the score 18-13 with 3:12 left in the contest, but Reynolds iced the game with multiple first down runs on the game’s final possession.
Clemson will return home to Memorial Stadium next week for its final conference home game of the season. The Tigers will host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 12:30 p.m. ET on The CW; ticket information for that Senior Day game is available at ClemsonTigers.com/FootballTickets.