Syracuse Orange vs Clemson Tigers Box Score on Nov 05, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Nov 5, 2016

CLEMSON -- Apparently Clemson had enough of the late-game drama.

The Tigers, ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings, bolted to a 30-point halftime lead and coasted to a 54-0 victory against Syracuse Saturday afternoon.

The biggest concern for Clemson (9-0, 6-0) was the health of junior quarterback Deshaun Watson, who suffered a bruised shoulder on a 13-yard run late in the first half. Watson was available for the second half, but did not return.

He wasn't needed.

Clemson's backups put the finishing touches on the Tigers' 21st consecutive home victory, tacking on 24 second-half points for good measure and marching ever closer to a second straight undefeated regular season.

Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey wasn't as fortunate as Watson. He left the game with 3:11 left in the first quarter after absorbing a hard hit at the end of a 6-yard run and did not return.

Dungey, the leading passer in the ACC entering the game, completed 6 of 9 passes with one interception before his early exit. The sophomore was coming off a career-high 434 yards passing in a win against Boston College.

Syracuse (4-5, 2-3) managed to mount little consistent offensive threat against the Tigers, who intercepted three passes and held the Orange to 277 total yards -- their lowest output of the season.

Syracuse suffered a shutout defeat for the first time since a 56-0 loss to Georgia Tech on Oct. 19, 2013.

Even without Watson, the league's preseason Player of the Year and a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2015, Clemson's offense proved too much for the Orange.

Senior backup quarterback Nick Schuessler completed 11 of 17 passes for a career-high 177 yards and two touchdowns and the Tigers had two receivers with more than 100 yards receiving -- Deon Cain, with five receptions for career-best 125 yards, and Mike Williams, with six catches for 106 yards.

Cain scored two touchdowns, including a 65-yarder from Watson on Clemson's second play of the second quarter that ranks as the Tigers' longest offensive play of the season.

Williams added a 14-yard touchdown catch, Artavis Scott a 5-yard scoring reception and Watson and Wayne Gallman added touchdown runs of 1 and 5 yards, respectively, for Clemson, which amassed 567 yards.

Clemson's defense capped the scoring when freshman safety Tanner Muse had a 64-yard interception return with 7:40 left in the game.

NOTES: Clemson TE Jordan Leggett has two of the five 100-yard receiving games by a tight end in program history. ... Senior S Jadar Johnson has four interceptions this season, equaling his total over his first three seasons. ... Syracuse QB Eric Dungey has six 300-yard passing games this season. ... Syracuse junior LB Parris Bennett is averaging 12.4 tackles over the last five games.