Syracuse football gets silenced in the Loud House in 31-14 loss to Clemson

Syracuse football (4-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) received its first blemish of the year to Clemson (3-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) at home on Saturday. The Orange fell 31-14 to the Tigers. Dino Babers’ crew encountered the same adversity they faced all season long. SU was plagued by penalties and a poor start. Clemson was the first team this year to make Syracuse pay for its mistakes.

SU’s introduction to the matchup was substandard, giving up a turnover in its first drive of the game. Quarterback Garrett Shrader decided to keep the ball for a 19-yard rush before getting blindsided by defensive end Justin Mascoll. The signal-caller for the Orange could not hang on to the pigskin and the Tigers pounced on the loose ball. About three minutes and eight plays later, Clemson found the endzone to strike first.

The Tigers stayed with the momentum on defense. Shrader got sacked twice in his first two plays after the CU score. Syracuse had to punt after going three-and-out. On the punt, the Orange were guilty of a kick catch interference penalty which put the Clemson ball at mid-field.

“I think some of those penalties really shaped the game,” head coach Dino Babers said. “But penalties are a part of the game and we understand and they understand that you’re not going to get every call. You have to learn to deal with it. That’s just part of the momentum and the adversity that goes along with the game. Penalties will never be used as an excuse whether you win or lose football games.”

Syracuse continued to struggle to get anything rolling in the opening frame of action. In the first two plays of the drive, the Orange had another turnover off a fumble from running back LeQuint Allen in the backfield. The scoop and run after the drop ball, set up Clemson on Syracuse’s three-yard line. Tigers tailback Will Shipley punched it home to go up 14-0.

It was not all bad for SU. Tight end Dan Villari got his first touches of the season in the first quarter. The redshirt sophomore rose to the dome crowd and made himself a potential go-to option for Shrader for the rest of the season. A 28-yard reception while hurdling a Clemson player and shedding two tackles, gave Syracuse its first score of the afternoon. Villari recorded over 60 receiving yards and one score on just two catches.

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“I thought he (Villari) made some plays and he did some things, I mean he looked good, right?” Babers asked. “I’d like to see more of that so we have to see how he goes. He did get an ‘ow-y’ in the game, so we have to see what happens.”

“I thought he played awesome while he was in there,” Shrader said about Villari. “The big thing was just getting him targets, getting him the ball so he can go out and make plays because he is a playmaker, he is a football player first, and he’s very talented.”

The penalties continued to put Syracuse in a bad spot. In the second quarter, Clemson faced 3rd and 13 at its own 48-yard line. Quarterback Cade Klubnik took the snap and rolled out toward the sideline before just throwing the ball away. Klubnik, out of bounds, got hit by the captain for the Orange’s defense, Marlowe Wax. The penalty gave the Tigers a fresh set of downs and put them at Syracuse’s 36. The flag against SU was one of nine for a total of 92 yards.

There was not much help on the offensive side of the ball for Syracuse, either. The Orange went scoreless in the second and third quarters. Clemson tallied 10 points in those middle frames.

Down 24-7 in the early moments of the fourth, Shrader found LeQuint Allen on a passer route to put the Orange back in the contest.

The momentum would not last long for Syracuse as Clemson scored 7 more in the ladder moments to ice the game and send the dome crowd to the exits.

After several stellar games for Shrader, the QB finished with a subpar afternoon. The senior passed for 181 yards on just above a 50% completion rate. Shrader was also sacked five times and had two turnovers (a fumble and an interception). The field general blamed himself for his team’s poor performance.

“For the offensive end, I’ll speak for us, I thought the defense played studly and they gave us every opportunity (to win),” Shrader explained. “So I’ll take responsibility on offense and you can’t have three turnovers… We got to go out and make plays and if we’re not doing it at a high level and we turn the ball over how I did, I give us no chance to compete.”

Syracuse does not have much time to dwell on the afternoon. SU has another chance to win a big matchup in Chapel Hill this weekend. Syracuse takes on No. 14 North Carolina (4-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) on Saturday at 3:30. Our coverage of the game starts with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Kickoff at 3.