SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Clemson heads into a noon kickoff at Syracuse on Saturday looking to build on its best offensive showing of the season, while the Orange arrive with two straight wins and their starting quarterback healthy again.
The Tigers are 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the ACC after beating Florida State 36-24 on the road last week. Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds threw two touchdown passes and broke off a 79-yard scoring run, the longest by a quarterback in program history. Clemson piled up 351 yards, its best total against an FBS opponent since late September.
Head coach Dabo Swinney has asked his team to stack good weeks together and make a strong push through November, two weeks after a 20-16 loss to Virginia Tech.
Syracuse sits at 4-4 and 2-4 in league play. The Orange dropped their first four ACC games, then beat North Carolina 31-30 in overtime and upset SMU 30-27. Steve Angeli started both of those wins after returning from injury and in those two games he passed for 456 yards with three scores.
Receiver Umari Hatcher leads the Orange with 60 catches for 952 yards and eight scores. Tylik Hill has 515 rushing yards, and Ahmad Miller has a team-best six rushing touchdowns.
Syracuse won last season in Clemson, 34-21, a game in which Angeli tore his Achilles tendon late. Clemson still leads the series with 10 wins in 14 meetings. The Tigers return home Nov. 14 against Georgia Tech.
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