Syracuse football is 4-0 for the second straight season. That hasn’t been said since the Orange lifted the national title in 1959. Starting now though, the path to stay undefeated gets a lot tougher. The ACC opener is this week against the perennial power of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Clemson. Since becoming the head coach of SU in 2015, the storyline has been, “Dino knows Dabo,” and Syracuse always has a chance. Lets take a look at if that is really the case.
2022 – Clemson 27-21
This years game is a big one against Clemson, but last year meant a lot more. The Orange were ranked 14th, the Tigers were 5th. A win would have propelled SU into the top 10. Syracuse dominated the first half and led 21-10 at the break. Then, the Orange offense went quiet and didn’t score at all in the second half. The Tigers scored 17 points in the 4th quarter to come back and win with a new QB, Cade Klubnik.
2021 – Clemson 17-14
The last time these teams played in the Dome, it was a Friday night in mid-October. Through the first quarter, the Orange and Tigers were scoreless. It was the Sean Tucker show on the offensive end for SU as he ran for 163 yards. But no touchdowns for Tucker meant that the ‘Cuse couldn’t muster enough points to get the win.
2015-2020 – Clemson 5-1
So if you look back, yes Dino Babers is just 1-7 against Dabo Sweeney. The one win though for SU was at the Dome, on the last Saturday of September. Sound familiar? That’s the same situation were in this season. At the time, the Tigers were ranked #1. Now, they’re unranked with two losses.
So, historically, Dino does play Dabo well. Even though he’s won just once, he has played the Tigers close. The Orange have a chance to go 5-0 for the second straight season.
