Clemson Tigers vs Syracuse Orange Match Player Stats On Oct 05, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 5, 2013

No. 4 Clemson 49, Syracuse 14: Tajh Boyd completed 20-of-27 passes for a career-high 455 yards and five touchdowns as the visiting Tigers spoiled the first-ever ACC game for the Orange.

Adam Humphries registered two touchdown receptions and Sammy Watkins caught a 91-yard scoring strike for Clemson (5-0, 3-0 ACC). Boyd, who tied his single-game best for touchdown passes, recorded 300 yards passing for the 13th time to tie Florida State’s Chris Weinke for second in ACC history behind North Carolina State’s Philip Rivers (18).

Jerome Smith rushed for a season-high 125 yards and a touchdown for Syracuse (2-3, 0-1), which saw its six-game home winning streak end. Terrel Hunt completed 8-of-24 passes and was picked off three times while the Orange handed Boyd his first two interceptions of the season.

Humphries caught a 60-yard touchdown pass from Boyd on the third play from scrimmage and the duo connected again for 42 and a score with 15 seconds left in the first quarter. Smith broke free for a 66-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to trim the deficit to 21-7, but Boyd had 363 yards through the air in the opening half.

Boyd responded by finding Stanton Seckinger for a 17-yard touchdown and added a 40-yard scoring strike to Martavis Bryant for a 35-7 halftime lead. Leading 35-14, Clemson’s defense halted two potential scoring drives by the Orange before Watkins ran under Boyd’s perfectly lofted pass down the left sideline for the 91-yard touchdown.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Boyd moved into second place all time in the ACC for total offense with 10,421 yards -- passing Joe Hamilton of Georgia Tech (10,065) and Thaddeus Lewis from Duke (9,987). Rivers leads the way with 13,582 yards. … Riley Dixon’s 75-yard punt in the first quarter was the longest in Syracuse history, breaking the previous record of 73 set by Sean Reali (1995) and Rob Long (2007). … Clemson made its first appearance in the state of New York since 1952 when it played Fordham and extended its streak of double-digit victories over unranked teams to 13 games.