CLEMSON, S.C. — Before the game even reached halftime, students on the hill and in the bleachers that make up the student section were already heading for the exits. No. 3 Clemson (9-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast) mauled Syracuse (4-5, 2-3), 54-0, in Death Valley. By halftime, the Tigers were already ahead 30-0.

The Orange lost starting quarterback Eric Dungey to injury resulting from an apparent hit to the head. He didn’t return to the game.

Here are three quick reactions to the game.

Back to square one

The defense that Syracuse displayed in its last two games — wins over then-No.17 Virginia Tech and Boston College — seemed to be new and improved. It came up with big stops and turnovers instead of being gouged for big scores. But Saturday’s squad looked more like the unit that showed up for SU’s first four FBS games.

Clemson recorded its three longest drives of the season on three consecutive touchdown drives in the first half. They went 95, 89 and 86 yards. The Tigers finished the first half with 396 yards, its best total of the season.

Clemson quarterback and Heisman candidate Deshaun Watson left the game with an injury with two drives left in the first half, but backup Nick Schuessler still led the Tigers 55 yards in his first full drive that was cut short by the nearing of the end of the half by a missed field goal.

Watson finished 13-of-16 for 169 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 39 yards and a score.

In the first half, Clemson had 13 chunk plays — seven passes that went for more than 15 yards and six runs of more than 10 yards.

Once the Tigers scored on their first drive of the second half, the Orange started sending in some backup defenders for significant playing time, including Scoop Bradshaw and Evan Foster.

The replacement

When Dungey was knocked out of the game in the first quarter, it was Austin Wilson, not Zack Mahoney to take over quarterbacking duties. Mahoney had been the only other quarterback to appear this season for SU and is listed as the backup on the depth chart.

Wilson went 17-for-27 and 116 yards and two interceptions in his three-quarter appearance.

With Wilson at the helm, the Orange’s playbook slimmed down to mostly handoffs, screens and slants, with few throws downfield. He was largely inaccurate on throws past the line of scrimmage, tossing them out of reach and often out of bounds.

The offensive line crumbled under the weight of Clemson’s defensive line, resulting in several plays with Wilson on the ground.

His best throw came with 7:56 left in the game when he found receiver Amba Etta-Tawo along the sideline for a first down. Wilson ran away from pressure to the left and threw across his body for the 20-yard completion. But he followed it up with his worst of the game, a screen pass that looked to be destined for Sean Riley but instead hit off a player’s leg and was returned for a touchdown.

That would be Wilson’s last play of the day.

Wide right

When Cole Murphy drove a 30-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter to the right of the uprights, he extended a rough patch that has been plaguing him for the last six games. In that time, he’s missed seven of his nine field goal attempts.

Murphy headed to the sideline and paced the length of it while Clemson went the other way to score a touchdown. Murphy consulted with punter Sterling Hofrichter before hanging his head and he trudged around and took shortened fake kicks in stride.

Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said during his press conference on Monday that he’s sticking with Murphy despite the slump.

Published on November 5, 2016 at 6:58 pm

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