Clemson, S.C. — The Syracuse football team takes on the Clemson Tigers at noon Saturday here at Memorial Stadium.
The game will air on ESPN.
See in-game team and individual stats here.
Note: Refresh this page throughout Syracuse’s game at Clemson to see the latest updates
Two healthy teams
Fran Brown said Thursday that he expects Yasin Willis, Devin Grant and Trevion Mack to return from injury Saturday. According to the ACC injury report, all three will be available against the Tigers.
Brown also said he expects wide receiver Emanuel Ross to make his season debut, which was reflected in the injury report. Fellow wide receiver Tyshawn Russell was mentioned as a possible inactive for Brown but was not on the injury report.
Starting safety Duce Chesnut, who was listed as questionable, avoided an inactive designation.
Clemson is also set to regain four starters: left tackle Tristan Leigh, right guard Elyjah Thurmon, wide receiver Antonio Williams and safety Khalil Barnes.
Pregame
Fran Brown believes Clemson is a few plays away from being undefeated, and so does Dabo Swinney. Brown believes Clemson was decimated by injuries in last week’s loss to Georgia Tech. According to Thursday’s injury report, the Tigers may see four starters return to the field Saturday.
With a healthy team, Clemson may be all that Brown has hyped the Tigers to be. But his team still has to play ball and aim for an upset in the hostile environment known as Death Valley. Like Clemson, Syracuse is expected to regain some starters Saturday, including leading rusher Yasin Willis and left tackle Trevion Mack.
ACC openers and games against the Tigers have not been kind to the Orange. But Syracuse must brush that to the side and realize the opportunity in front of it.
After essentially sending Clemson to the College Football Playoff last season, the Orange can add another highlight win to Brown’s résumé and shatter the Tigers’ playoff dreams.
Steve Angeli leads the nation in passing, Demetres Samuel Jr. leads the nation in deflections and Dan Villari has the second-most receiving yards among all tight ends.
With Clemson’s offense struggling, Syracuse can leave Saturday with a momentum-building win if its offensive line holds up and its defense plays, at the minimum, disciplined football.