Syracuse football HC Dino Babers: ‘Clemson game is turning into a rivalry’

Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers believes this annual game vs Clemson is turning into a rivalry. Here are all the details.

Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers is in the midst of his fourth season on the hill. In every year he’s been here with the Orange he has played the Clemson Tigers.

In four tries, Syracuse is 1-3.

In most situations, this would hardly inspire confidence, but when you consider the level of the opponent this matchup is budding into something.

Orange head coach Dino Babers spoke after the game and believes this is actually turning into a rivalry:

"“It’s really kind of turning into, as crazy as it sounds, it’s turning into a little bit of a rivalry even though we only won one out of three. They may not think so, but I enjoy playing them and I think our team enjoys playing them as well. Maybe not so much this year but we are looking forward to next year.”"

Is Dino Babers crazy or is he on to something?

You can vote in our social media poll below whether you believe this Syracuse vs Clemson matchup is actually turning into a rivalry.

But as you’re contemplating where you’re going to lay your vote, here are some truth bombs.

"The definition of a rivalry is “competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field”, per Dictionary.com."

So in other words, it’s about competing for the same objective: winning the ACC. During the last four years, the Tigers have won the entire conference in each of those seasons.

In terms of their own matchup, Syracuse is 1-3 vs the Tigers under Dino Babers.

But look beyond the final record. Syracuse has competed with the Tigers as no other team has in all of college football including Alabama.

2016: Nothing really to talk about here. The Orange lost 54-0 in hostile territory (Death Valley) and Syracuse was soundly defeated in Dino Babers rookie season.

2017: The Orange had one of the biggest upsets in program history vs the Clemson Tigers on Friday, October 13. But a lot of folks suggested it was a one-time fluke win (27-24).

2018: Despite a loss by the Orange (27-23) this was a real prove it moment. In the same location that two years previously Syracuse got destroyed in Death Valley, they not only competed but dominated the majority of the contest. Sadly Syracuse let it slip through their fingers in the waning moments.

2019: The 41-6 finish will lead to blowout headlines and technically that’s true, but if you watched the game it told a different story. With the game sitting at 17-6, the Orange snagged a huge interception thanks to Chris Fredrick that brought the team to the nine-yard line. If Syracuse scored a touchdown, it would’ve made it a four-point game. Sadly that’s not what happened, Tommy DeVito threw a terrible back-breaking interception on the next play and a few plays later Clemson scored an 87-yard touchdown to blow the game open.

The talent gap is obvious. Look at the recruiting rankings for Syracuse (51st best in the country), look at the recruiting rankings for Clemson (seventh-best in the country), per 247 Sports.

Despite the gap, the Orange have still found ways to compete with a team that has won two out of the last three National Championships. If that’s not a rivalry, I’m not sure what is.