(Photo by Tyler Smith/Getty Images)
There was going to be a lot of pressure on the Clemson Tigers as the season wound down with their perfect record and chance to make the college football playoff. The Tigers hit the road on Saturday as they went to the Carrier Dome to play the Syracuse Orange. Syracuse would give Clemson everything they could handle but there was simply too much Deshaun Watson at the end of the day as the Tigers improved to 10-0 on the year with a 37-27 win. Syracuse would fall to 3-7 with the defeat.
The two teams combined for 35 points during a wild first quarter. Wayne Gallman scored from 11 yards out and Watson added a three-yard score shortly after that to give Clemson a 14-0 lead just two minutes into the game. Syracuse though would respond with two touchdowns of their own to tie the game when Ervin Philips rushed for a 28-yard score and Zack Mahoney would score from ten yards out. Watson hit Charone Peake on a four-yard score with five seconds left in the quarter though to end the scoring spree. Peake finished with seven catches for 120 yards while Artavis Scott had 11 catches for 72 yards.
Watson threw a 40-yard pass to Deon Cain early in the second quarter which would give the Tigers a lead that they wouldn’t give up. Watson finished 34-for-46 for 360 yards through the air while rushing 14 times for 105 yards on the ground during a complete Heisman Trophy-like effort. Mahoney went 8-for-21 at the quarterback position for the Orange while George Morris II rushed for 80 yards. Clemson will host Wake Forest next week while Syracuse will hit the road to face NC State.
