No. 5 Clemson survived a scare vs. No. 14 Syracuse, coming back from an 11-point deficit to beat the Orange, 27-21. In the process, head coach Dabo Swinney benched quarterback DJ Uiagalelei in favor of true freshman Cade Klubnik.
In the end, while Klubnik led the comeback, it was the running backs, Will Shipley and Phil Mafah, who combined for 266 yards and three touchdowns to propel the Tigers (8-0) to victory. In fact, Klubnik only attempted four passes, completing two for 19 yards, in relief as Clemson rallied successfully.
After the game, Swinney stood behind Uiagalelei as the team’s starting quarterback despite the poor performance. Uiagalelei completed 13 of 21 passes for 138 yards with two interceptions.
