For the first time in the 81-year history of Clemson’s Memorial Stadium and just the fourth time in ACC history, two teams with records of 6-0 or better will battle as No. 14 Syracuse takes on No. 5 Clemson this Saturday. Both teams have already clinched bowl eligibility, and the winner will hold the title of the only undefeated team remaining in the ACC.
As Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said earlier this week, “They’ve never had a matchup like this in The Valley…so that’s pretty special to be a part of a game like that, a moment like that. This is a great matchup between two good football teams.” While both the Orange and the Tigers have stood out as top teams to start 2022, the two programs have starkly different stories over the past decade.
The Tigers, under head coach Dabo Swinney, are a program that has seen all there is to see in college football. Clemson has already made six College Football Playoff appearances, winning twice in those six trips. The Tigers have also won six of the past seven ACC titles.
On the other hand, Syracuse is a program that has been starved of success over the past three years. Since a 10-3 finish to the 2018 season, SU finished the following seasons with two 5-7 records and a 1-10 season in 2020. The Orange have only made two bowl games since joining the ACC in 2013 and have yet to even make an ACC championship game.
While Saturday’s matchup between the Orange and Tigers is just another key conference game on Clemson’s quest of returning to the ACC title game and CFB Playoff, the matchup represents one of the biggest matchups for Syracuse in decades. The winner takes the solo lead in the ACC Atlantic division and the head-to-head tiebreaker over the loser. A win on Saturday for the Orange would clear the path to the ACC championship game, welcome SU into the playoff conversation and likely bring ESPN's College Gameday to the 315 for a matchup with Notre Dame next weekend.
The task will not be easy though for Syracuse. SU has never beaten Clemson in Death Valley in four attempts. Dino Babers accepted how special a feat it would be to walk away with a win on Saturday; “To be able to beat them at their place is obviously a very difficult task for a lot of coaches and a lot of programs.”
Gametime between the Orange and the Tigers is scheduled for noon on Saturday. WAER’s coverage begins with the McClurg Team Countdown to Kickoff at 11:30.