Syracuse Football: Breaking down the Orange 2022 schedule, Clemson

Before the Syracuse football 2022 schedule was released, I said that despite the tough teams on the schedule, I thought this team could still have success and be a bowl team based on what I have seen so far this offseason. And when the schedule came out, it does appear difficult but I still stand by it.

So I sat down and decided that instead of just saying that I believe it again, I wanted to break the games down one by one and give you the information you need to decide for yourself. I will go game by game with fun stats like head-to-head outcomes, players to watch, my way too early rating of difficulty, and a few other notes that might help.

Here are the teams scheduled and links to those that are already published in case you missed one:

Louisville

UConn

Purdue

Virginia

Wagner

Bye Week

NC State

Clemson

Notre Dame

Pittsburgh

Florida State

Wake Forest

Boston College

Breaking down the daunting Syracuse football bout at Clemson.

Syracuse Orange vs Clemson Tigers

Saturday, October 22, 2022 (time and viewing options TBD)

Location: Memorial Stadium (Death Valley/Frank Howard Field) in Clemson, SC

Last season head to head: Clemson won 17-14. According to winsipedia, Clemson also has won 8 games against Syracuse football while the Orange only has two wins against them (at least two of those SU losses should have been wins).

Opponent’s overall record last season: 10-3 last season overall and 6-2 in the conference. Undefeated at home. Only lost to Georgia, Pittsburgh and NC State. Played Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl and won 20-13.

Stats from their last face-off: The ESPN game summary had Syracuse football QB Garrett Shrader with 191 yards passing while Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei passed for 181 yards. Sean Tucker didn’t have a rushing TD but he did have 157 yards rushing. Stefon Thompson and “Quarterback Hunter” Cody Roscoe each had a sack. Andre Szmyt missed from 48 yards out with a chance to tie with 43 seconds left in the game.

Possible level of difficulty on a scale of 1-10: I’m giving this one a 9. This game is at Clemson and while the Orange almost beat them there in 2018 and had every chance to win at home last season, 2022 will likely see a Clemson team fighting to get back to the level of contending for a national championship as they have been in the past. I’d actually consider it a 10 if Syracuse football didn’t play them so closely last season and there is part of me still wanting to see Clemson perform better offensively.

Key person on the opposing team: Brandon Streeter. With Virginia hiring away Clemson’s former offensive coordinator Tony Elliot as their new head coach, quarterback coach Brandon Streeter will add offensive coordinator to his title in 2022. I’m not sure what Brandon will do differently than his successor but I’m curious to see how the offense does in 2022 under Coach Streeter.

How can Syracuse win: This is a game where all aspects of the team will have to play well if you want to leave Death Valley victorious. Special teams will have to hit field goals and punt well to help force Clemson to have more long fields than short. Mikel Jones will have to lead the defense to limit opportunities for the Clemson offense to excel and hopefully create a couple of turnovers. Sean Tucker will likely need another 100 yard plus rushing effort against their legitimate defense. The passing game will have to at the very least not turn the ball over and hopefully open up the offense enough to take advantage of any and all scoring opportunities especially if Clemson turns it over. Syracuse played them close with a chance to tie with under a minute remaining so hopefully the game plan will be similar but this time with a few more things paying off.

Other news, notes and nuggets:

– This is game 7 of the season. Syracuse football needs 6 wins to be bowl eligible. I don’t believe any game is impossible but I am curious to see where they stand by this point. Are we bowl-eligible already and teetering around greatness? Are we close just needing a game or two somehow? Is the Orange halfway there hoping to find a couple more wins along the way? Are the voices for change getting louder even though this schedule is even more difficult than last season? We will find out!
– Is Sardi’s Den as good as I’ve heard? If this is a noon game, enjoy some Waffle House pregame and you’ll thank me later.
– Clemson has produced many professional athletes (including William “Refrigerator” Perry) but did you know that others who attended the university include the lovely entertainment show host Nancy O’Dell, country singer Lee Brice, former Miss USA and Miss Universe as well as Baywatch actress Shawn Weatherly and actor Dolph Lundgren (so apparently Ivan Drago from Rocky IV wasn’t really a Russian after all)?
– The Howard’s Rock and running down the hill are impressive traditions at Clemson and I wish Syracuse football had more involving pregame in the Dome but at least Syracuse still has the Varsity banner flip. It turns out the tradition of Howard’s Rock actually started with former coach Frank Howard telling players they could only rub the rock if they gave 110% effort in their games.
– Clemson won a championship in 1981 after being unranked in the preseason. It’s funny to think that between then and 2016 when Clemson won their second title in football, many would often use the phrase “Clemsoning” in reference to Clemson often losing games they should have won.