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CLEMSON -- A few days ago Dabo Swinney said it should be hard for Clemson to earn the longest home winning streak in ACC history.
He was probably rethinking that stance at times Saturday. Because this was so hard at times that it was nauseating.
Swinney knew Syracuse presented a difficult challenge, but he probably had no idea he'd have to rely on Cade Klubnik to get the Tigers past Syracuse, 27-21, in a comeback from an 11-point halftime deficit.
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This win makes it 38 straight at Death Valley, moving Clemson past Florida State's streak set from 1992 to 2001.
It moves the Tigers to 8-0 and keeps them in the thick of the national championship conversation.
It also invites a host of questions and speculation about the quarterback position over the next two weeks as Clemson moves into the open week.
Swinney immediately threw some cold water on the idea that DJ Uiagalelei has lost his job, telling ESPN afterward:
"DJ is our quarterback. There ain't no question about that. That's our guy. That's our leader. You can write that right now. DJ is our guy. Now he's got to play better and he will. But how about Cade Klubnik coming in there and leading these guys?"
Klubnik didn't take over the game after entering in the third quarter following Uiagalelei's third turnover. But he didn't really have to. The chief objective was to protect the football, and he did that.
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An offense that had four turnovers, plus a turnover on downs, with Uiagalelei at the controls proceeded to go turnover-free over four possessions when the freshman was behind center.
That, combined with a defense that came alive to produce six straight punts and then R.J. Mickens' game-sealing interception, is what allowed Clemson to close the game with 20 unanswered points after Syracuse took the air out of the stadium while going up 21-7.
Perhaps the two biggest plays of the game involved Klubnik and flags.
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On Klubnik's first possession in, it all seemed to be slipping away as a false-start penalty and then a sack produced a third-and-25 from Clemson's 43.
Klubnik rolled right, saw his options covered, and then took off to at least get something. That's when Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff made contact with Klubnik out of bounds to draw a penalty.
Suddenly, a sure punt turned into a first down that gave Clemson life. The Tigers reached the end zone on that drive on the third play of the fourth quarter to trim it to 21-16.
Later, on third-and-11 from midfield with Clemson up 24-21, Swinney elected to chuck it deep. Worst-case scenario it's an interception that's basically a great punt.
Another flag came flying when Isaiah Johnson ran through Beaux Collins in the end zone at the 2:58 mark. That pushed Clemson to the 35, and B.T. Potter ended up converting a 44-yard field goal to make it a six-point game.
The Tigers rushed for 293 yards against Syracuse's smallish front, and 172 of them came from Will Shipley on 27 carries. A 50-yard touchdown burst by Shipley with 11:26 left in the game put Clemson up 22-21, and a beautiful ball from Klubnik to Joseph Ngata in the back of the end zone allowed Clemson to convert the 2-point conversion from 8 yards out after a delay-of-game penalty pushed them back, pushing the lead to 24-21.
At halftime, Clemson was down 21-10 after totaling 48 plays to Syracuse's 25. Turnovers will wipe away such advantages, especially one by your quarterback when you're facing first-and-goal from the 3.
Ja'Had Carter took Uiagalelei's lost fumble back 90 yards to put Clemson down 14-7. A red-zone interception by Uiagalelei and a turnover on downs in Syracuse territory created some seriously uncomfortable vibes.
And then it got worse when Shipley lost a fumble in Syracuse territory in the third quarter, followed by Uiagalelei making a poor decision and throw to give Syracuse the ball at midfield.
The defense forced a three-and-out to keep Syracuse from pulling away, and then Klubnik trotted onto the field.
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For all its ease moving the ball at times in the first half, Syracuse finished with 291 yards and totaled just 54 plays. That, plus 10 penalties for 88 yards, ended up defining this game.
It was hard, just as the head coach said it should be.
But surely he didn't mean that hard.
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