Syracuse is game, but No. 1 Clemson keeps one step ahead

SYRACUSE -- DeShaun Watson had a big day for No. 1 Clemson with 461 total yards and three touchdowns as the top-ranked Tigers held off Syracuse, 37-27, yesterday.

The win gave the Tigers (10-0, 7-0 ACC) at least 10 victories for the fifth straight season and their first 10-0 start since they won their only national championship in 1981.

With 13 straight wins, the Tigers have their longest winning streak in 34 years.

Syracuse (3-7, 1-5) put up a good fight for embattled coach Scott Shafer, but lost for the seventh time in a row. Syracuse is 1-10 all-time against the No. 1 team.

Watson completed 34 of 47 passes for 360 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He ran for 101 yards and a score.

Greg Huegel kicked three field goals for the Tigers.

Syracuse made a game of it from the start, repeatedly finding gaping holes in the Clemson defensive line. The Orange rushed for 242 yards and scored its three touchdowns on the ground against a team that had allowed only nine rushing scores.

Leading 31-17 at halftime, Clemson failed to score in the third quarter for the first time this season and the Orange closed to 31-24 on Zack Mahoney's 14-yard run.

The Orange defense held Wayne Gallman in check as he managed 66 yards on 15 carries, boosting his season total to 1,043. His 14-yard run on fourth-and-2 early in the fourth quarter, though, set up Huegel's 31-yard field goal with 13:33 to play for a 34-24 lead.

The Orange rallied again when George Morris ripped off a 51-yard run that set up a 24-yard field goal by Cole Murphy early in the fourth to make it a one-possession game, but that was as close as the Orange could get.

Artavis Scott had 12 catches for 73 yards and Charone Peake had seven catches for a career-high 120 yards and one TD as Clemson finished with 566 yards.