Clemson defense shows out with 5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles to beat previously unbeaten Syracuse 31-14

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- , Cade Klubnik threw two touchdown passes and Clemson’s high-powered defense made a statement on Saturday in a dominant 31-14 victory against previously unbeaten Syracuse. The Tigers (3-2, 1-2 ACC) sacked Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader five times, picked him off once, and forced three fumbles. They recovered two of those fumbles, the first of which came on the Orange’s opening drive. “We won the line of scrimmage,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “I mean, we did a heck of a job up front. I think we won the matchups up front and created some disruption and we challenged them. We forced the issue.” On the first drive, Shrader took off for a 19-yard dash, but was hit hard and lost the ball. It was recovered by Clemson’s Payton Page at the Tigers’ 45-yard line. Clemson was initially called for a targeting penalty on the hit but after a review it was overturned.