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Syracuse AD Wants to Beat Clemson in The Worst Way
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- Syracuse AD Wants to Beat Clemson in The Worst Way
(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Syracuse AD Wants to Beat Clemson in The Worst Way
The Clemson Tigers are looking for win number six on Saturday when they travel to play the Syracuse Orange, the new magical number for Dabo Swinney, who is proud of his program not having a losing season since 1999.
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With a 5-3 record, the College Football Playoff is off the table for the Tigers, but they can still have another winning season if they take care of business in November and win at least two games.
The Orange have plenty of motivation of their own for Saturday. Syracuse sits at 4-4, but the program has been scary as of late. The Orange upset Bill Belichick's North Carolina 31-30 in overtime on Oct. 24 before pulling off another upset of then-No. 19 SMU in a 30-37 thriller in Week 9.
Before Syracuse head coach Fran Brown's news conference on Tuesday, Orange athletic director Bryan Blair made a surprise appearance.
Blair noted that Syracuse has a huge opportunity in front of them by beating Clemson. He implored fans not just to show up for the contest. He wants the fans to make the JMA Wireless Dome extremely loud, making life hard for a Clemson offense that has had its struggles this season.
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The Orange will finish their season against Clemson, NC State, Boston College, and Notre Dame. With a win over Clemson, the Orange could be looking at a seven-win season.
While the Tigers are not the same program they were five years ago, a win over Clemson would be huge for Syracuse. It would show that they are an up-and-comer in the ACC.
The sad part of all of this for Clemson is that it's not hard to imagine Syracuse winning this game. The Orange have confidence after beating SMU and UNC.
Clemson had an impressive win over Florida State in Week 9, but the Tigers have been inconsistent this season. The loss to Virginia Tech shows the Tigers can drop a game like this, especially if freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds has an off day.
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Blair's comments should put extra pressure on Swinney. It would be hard for Swinney to walk up to the podium and say everything is fine with a loss to Syracuse. It would be a terrible embarrassment for the Tigers' once-proud program.
With that being said, Clemson's players should be aware of the comments. Their best plan of attack should be to silence those fans as quickly as possible
