Syracuse (3-7, 1-5 Atlantic Coast) fell to No. 1 Clemson (10-0, 7-0), 37-27, after a frantic first quarter saw Syracuse tie a game once 14-0 in favor of the Tigers. The Orange climbed within seven in the second half but never jumped out in front, dropping its seventh consecutive game and eliminating it from automatic bowl contention.

Here are three quick takeaways:

On the run

Zack Mahoney was inefficient in the air, so he turned to the ground. The walk-on quarterback making his second start against a top-10 opponent ran for two scores despite a meager 38.1 completion percentage.

His first tied the game at 14 in the first quarter after Syracuse fell behind by two scores in less than two minutes. The second brought the Orange within seven in the third.

But Mahoney overthrew receivers on several occasions and wasn’t able to jumpstart a fourth-quarter comeback when the Orange needed it most. He may be Syracuse’s quarterback for the remainder of the season, and Saturday provided a mixed-bag look into the near future.

Curious George

George Morris has run for less than eight yards in five separate games this season. Never did he surpass 71.

On Saturday, he ran for 80 yards on 14 carries, shouldering the bulk of SU’s ground game after starter Jordan Fredericks left with an upper-body injury in the first half. Morris even factored on special teams, gunning down CU returner C.J. Fuller at his own 14-yard line in the second half.

He still hasn’t reached the end zone this season, but provided a glimpse of optimism even though it’s too late.

Dowels movement

Redshirt-freshman cornerback Juwan Dowels was burned by Deon Cain for a 40-yard touchdown at the start of the second quarter. It put Clemson back up by 14 after Syracuse had erased a two-score deficit.

But as SU regained traction, so did Dowels and he made two vital pass breakups to prevent Clemson from running away. On one, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson was hit as he threw and the ball fluttered into the end zone.

Dowels timed it, swatted it down and made a play that Syracuse has rarely gotten from its defensive backs this season.

Published on November 14, 2015 at 7:06 pm