The fun is in the winning
Dabo Swinney didn't have to walk away from this one citing analytics or metrics that are normal indicators of a winning team.
The only indicator necessary was the scoreboard.
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The fun is not in the hypothesizing, as Syracuse could attest Saturday after turning it over, dropping interceptions and committing a bunch of penalties.
The fun is in the winning, and Clemson flies home today feeling good about itself at 3-2 after a 31-14 victory over the Orange.
Florida State and Duke made the Tigers pay dearly for turnovers, and this time Clemson capitalized on Syracuse's miscues with three touchdowns off three Orange giveaways.
Syracuse has given Dabo Swinney's team absolute fits over the years even though Clemson's only loss to the Orange under Swinney came six years ago.
But the Tigers backed up the positive developments that came even in a bitter overtime defeat to Florida State, as Cade Klubnik's playmaking and the defense traveled.
Clemson got its first ACC victory of the season on Sept. 30. That's a long wait.
But if Klubnik and the defense continue the level of play shown the past two weeks, there will be more wins coming.
Klubnik was excellent on third down, using his legs to extend plays and fire accurate passes downfield. He finished with 263 yards passing and tossed two touchdowns on a 23-of-37 clip, with seven completions of 15-plus yards.
With top playmaker Antonio Williams out to injury for a second consecutive game, freshman Tyler Brown continued to make the case that he could challenge Williams for top-playmaker status.
With Syracuse choosing to load up to stop the run, Brown feasted in man coverage and on scramble routes with eight catches for 151 yards including a long of 47. Troy Stellato had five catches for 39 yards as Clemson finished 7-of-15 on third downs and averaged 11.4 yards per completion.
The defense set the tone early, with Justin Mascoll forcing a Garrett Shrader fumble on the fourth play from scrimmage. The Tigers harassed Shrader for much of the day and held Syracuse to 286 yards, 14 first downs and a 9-of-17 clip on third downs.
Clemson racked up five sacks and limited Shrader to 24 yards rushing on 15 carries. Shrader had rushed for 195 yards on 25 carries in Syracuse's convincing win at Purdue two weeks ago, and last year in Death Valley he ran wild in the first half as Syracuse took a two-touchdown lead.
TJ Parker had two sacks, both of them early, as Clemson took a 14-0 lead off the Shrader fumble and another glaring miscue from the quarterback: an errant throw on a swing pass that LeQuint Allen couldn't handle.
The ball went bounding to the turf and Xavier Thomas scooped it up, dashing 20 yards to the Syracuse 3 to set up a touchdown run by Will Shipley.
The Orange committed nine penalties for 92 yards, including several for pass interference.
Clemson took a 21-7 lead into halftime after a 47-yard strike from Klubnik to Beaux Collins with 2:23 left in the first half.
The Tigers added to the lead with a 38-yard field goal by Jonathan Weitz, but a fumble by Jake Briningstool allowed Syracuse to get back in it at 24-14 early in the fourth.
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The JMA Wireless Dome came to life and Syracuse was on the verge of a stop with Clemson having to burn a timeout to figure out a third-and-12 from its own 23.
That's when Klubnik cemented his imprint on this game, breaking from the pocket and running right before firing a strike to Brown at the sideline for 19 yards.
Clemson ended up punting on that possession, but Aidan Swanson pinned Syracuse inside its 10-yard line. Three plays later, Jeremiah Trotter leaped to pick off a Shrader pass over the middle and give the offense the ball back at the Orange 32-yard line.
Phil Mafah found the open field on the next play and reached the end zone on a 32-yard scoring run that basically ended it.
Clemson now returns home for a meeting with Wake Forest hoping to build on the good vibes and fun that you can't get from a stat sheet.
This type of fun can come only from winning.
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