So often, Las Vegas evokes wonder at how its bookies are able to nail a spread.
Thus far, Clemson has presented a counter to the idea that the oddsmakers are all-knowing.
Become a subscriber at Tigerillustrated.com!
Because it's hard to see how the Tigers should be a favorite of 14 to 17 points if they can barely score 14 to 17 points.
The hope that an open date would transform this offense dissipated as Clemson showed the same flaws and lapses that have defined the season Friday night at the Carrier Dome.
ALSO SEE: Late-week Recruiting Insider | Clemson's verbal commitments
Yes, they got the 17-14 win after sweating out a late Syracuse drive and a missed 48-yard field goal.
But the 4-2 and unranked Tigers showed that this is just who they are in 2021, and there probably won't be any miracle solutions.
Join Tigerillustrated.com subscribers on The West Zone message board!
The offense showed some flashes, but in the end there were 17 points on the scoreboard and 314 total yards on 73 plays for an average of 4.3 yards a play.
There were false-start penalties, missed throws, dropped balls and a snap that sailed over the head of DJ Uiagalelei (although it's hard to blame emergency starter Mason Trotter for that, given the broken hand he was snapping with).
Dabo Swinney came in saying Clemson had to punish Syracuse with the run, but the Tigers finished with just 116 yards on the ground. Kobe Pace had 76 yards on 14 carries while averaging 5.4 yards per attempt, and Phil Mafah had 30 yards on nine carries.
The defense was less than dominant, and less than composed at one point late when James Skalski erupted at a botched substitution that left too few men on the field.
But the Tigers did accomplish their goal of taking away one of the two main threats for Syracuse's offense. Running back Sean Tucker got his yards, totaling 157 on 22 carries for a 7.1-yard average. But Garrett Shrader had just six yards on the ground after totaling 315 on 45 carries in the previous two games against Wake Forest.
Syracuse has dropped three games in a row by three points apiece. And Clemson heads back to the Upstate knowing things could be a lot worse than 4-2 as its three wins over FBS competition have come by a total of 15 points.
It's probably not realistic for Clemson fans to be upset at their team for this habit of living dangerously. Because at this point this team isn't good enough for anyone to think they should be wiping these teams off the field.
Uiagalelei was 21-of-34 passing for 181 yards with a second-quarter touchdown throw to Joseph Ngata. Davis Allen had eight catches for 49 yards, and Justyn Ross had five catches for 51 yards.
Like most close games, this one came down to just a few plays. The aforementioned scoring pass to Ngata was on third-and-13, and Ngata made a spectacular effort in leaping to grab the ball while getting a foot down in the end zone.
In the first quarter, Syracuse was in business on its third possession after Tucker got loose and ran 54 yards to Clemson's 19-yard line.
But after a timeout, that opportunity went up in smoke when Shrader was pressured and threw a silly pass right into the arms of Tyler Venables.
Add in an audacious fake-punt call late in the first half that helped put Clemson up 14-7, and the Tigers made a few more plays despite being out-gained 356-314.
Swinney's program has had plenty of survive-and-advance victories over the years, but it's an odd feeling watching them survive like this.
Might be a while before they're a two-touchdown favorite on the road again.
****************************************
**** ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: You can now read the premium message boards at Gamecockcentral.com, Warchant.com, UGASports.com and other sites in the Rivals.com network. Click HERE to get access to their premium message boards!
