Clemson Football: 3 takeaways from pull-away win over Syracuse

2. Defense picked up the offense most of the game

It is comforting when the defense can carry a game on how Clemson’s defense picked up the offense in this game. Syracuse had just 11 first downs and 176 passing yards, with Rex Culpepper going just 10-26. The wide receivers could not get separation all game. The Clemson defensive line pressured Culpepper all game.

Not only did the defense do an outstanding job against the pass, but the Clemson defense did a great job against the run. The Orange did have 150 yards rushing; 61 of those yards came on one play. Take away the 61-yard run; Syracuse has 89 yards on the other 31 carries for a 2.8 yards per carry average.

The Tigers lived in the backfield most of the game, sacking Culpepper twice. In addition to the sacks, the Tigers defense had seven tackles for loss. The Orange were limited on third down, converting only four of 13 third downs. The most telling stat of the afternoon was the stalled drives.

Syracuse scored twice on big plays. Other than those, the Orange had issue sustaining drives all game. Four of Syracuse’s drives ended on turnovers, three on interceptions. The times the Orange punted, four of those drives were three-and-outs. Pretty difficult to score when you cannot keep drives going.