Jerome Smith had just scampered 66 yards for SU’s first touchdown when the defense held Clemson to a third-and-1 from its own 33.

With Tigers quarterback Tajh Boyd calling an audible from the pistol formation, Syracuse defensive end Micah Robinson and outside linebacker Cameron Lynch began waving their arms up in the air.

The crowd got loud, as it appeared that Boyd’s receivers on the right side were unable to hear the play call. And when Boyd took it on a designed run, Robinson broke into the backfield and brought Boyd down for no gain.

Clemson would punt, giving the Orange a chance to cut into its 21-7 deficit early in the second quarter.

“We asked for the crowd to be the 12th man today, and they were,” SU head coach Scott Shafer said. “They were great. We had a huge showing today. I was so proud to run through that tunnel and see our fans, our community, our students out there representing us and wanting us to be what we want to be.”

A crowd of 48,961 packed into the Carrier Dome on Saturday to watch SU’s (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) Atlantic Coast Conference debut, the largest crowd since 2000. While they gradually trickled out after halftime of the Orange’s 49-14 loss to No. 3 Clemson (5-0, 3-0), there were times when the Dome was as loud as it gets during conference basketball season.

The fans exploded early following Lynch’s third-down two-handed swat on a Boyd pass, and arguably even louder after Riley Dixon booted an SU record 75-yard punt.

Said Shafer: “I just want to make sure everybody understands I’m so happy and proud of this community.”

Published on October 6, 2013 at 2:33 pm

Contact Stephen: [email protected] | @Stephen_Bailey1