In the end, Clemson survived Syracuse at home 27-21 to extend a nation’s leading win streak to 14 games with a late RJ Mickens interception, but it was anything but easy.
In a game oddly reminiscent of the 2018 matchup between the same teams in the same stadium, the Tigers struggled mightily. What will get the postgame headlines is the fact that quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was benched shortly after halftime in favor of freshman Cade Klubnik. The 2018 matchup featured a QB change due to an injury to Trevor Lawrence, and just like Chase Brice did on that day, Klubnik was behind center as the Tigers came back to win the game.
In 2018, Clemson leaned heavily on the run game. Today, Klubnik threw only four passes and a huge 50-yard touchdown run from Will Shipley that gave the Tigers the go-ahead score.
