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Angeli, Syracuse upset Clemson 34-21; Dabo Swinney off to worst start of his career

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Steve Angeli threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with a lower leg injury, Justus Ross-Simmons hauled in two TD passes and Syracuse upset heavily-favored Clemson 34-21 on Saturday sending the Tigers to their worst start ever under coach Dabo Swinney.

Angeli threw first half TD passes to Ross-Simmons and Darrell Gill Jr. while Will Nixon scored on a 9-yard run as the Orange (3-1, 1-0 ACC) built a 27-14 lead before Angeli left with a non-contact lower leg injury late in the third quarter after rolling out of the pocket.

Rickie Collins added a touchdown pass in relief for Syracuse, which entered the game as a 17 1/2-point road underdog but never trailed.

First-team preseason All-American Cade Klubnik struggled with accuracy and finding open receivers once again despite finishing 37 of 60 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns for Clemson, which started 1-3 for the first time since 2004 when Swinney was the Tigers wide receivers coach under Tommy Bowden.

Adam Randall added 130 yards rushing and a touchdown and Bryant Wesco Jr. had two TD catches for the Tigers (1-3, 0-2), who began the season ranked No. 4 in the nation but have seen their national championship hopes evaporate in the first four weeks of the season.

Syracuse took full advantage of two first-half gambles by coach Fran Brown and three costly Clemson penalties to build a 24-14 halftime lead.

After Angeli completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Ross-Simmons on the game's first possession, Brown caught Clemson off guard with an onside kick and Syracuse recovered. Brown then gambled again going for it on fourth and 3 near midfield and succeeded again, leading to a field goal giving the Orange a 10-0 lead before Clemson's offense stepped on the field.

Klubnik threw TDs to Wesco and Randall in the first half, but Syracuse matched the Tigers offensive output with Nixon scoring on a 9-yard run off an inside handoff and Angeli finding Gill in the right corner of the end zone on a perfectly-placed pass for a 22-yard score.

Clemson had a chance to cut the lead to seven before halftime but Wesco dropped a pass near the sideline with 5 seconds left that would have allowed the Tigers to get into field goal range. Instead Klubnik's Hail Mary heave to end the half was incomplete.

Johntay Cook II had five catches for 113 yards and Yasin Willis added 94 yards on the ground for Syracuse.

Halftime lasted more than two hours due to a lightning delay.

The takeaway

Syracuse: The Orange dominated Clemson at the line of scrimmage in the first half, rushing for 123 yards on 19 carries while outgaining Clemson 303-240 before the break. Brown's aggressive calls in the first quarter set the tone for Syracuse.

Clemson: The Tigers repeatedly hurt themselves in the first half on defense with two roughing the quarterback penalties and another unnecessary roughness call resulting in 45 yards and three Syracuse first downs in the first half alone. That's not smart football.

Up next

Syracuse: Hosts Duke on Saturday.

Clemson: At North Carolina on Oct. 4. ___

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