5 things we learned from Clemson’s loss to Syracuse

A look back at what we learned from Clemson’s 27-24 loss to Syracuse on Friday night before the Tigers have a bye week:

Kelly Bryant was far less than 100 percent

Clemson’s junior quarterback looked hobbled early in the game, and it was clear in the first quarter that Bryant was not going to be a factor running the football. He finished with four rushing attempts for (-8) yards before being slammed to the turf and suffering a concussion on a scramble play in the second quarter. Bryant did not return and was replaced by Zerrick Cooper.

Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said throughout the week that Bryant was able to practice and was “ready to go” for Syracuse. But a 100-percent healthy Cooper or Hunter Johnson might have been a better option than a dual-threat quarterback who was unable to use one of his biggest assets.

“He kind of tweaked it on a couple of plays early, and then he got a concussion and got slammed into the ground and had to come out of the game,” Swinney told reporters. “He put his heart into getting ready. I hate that he got hurt, but I’m glad we’ve got an open date. Hopefully we’ll get him healed up and ready to go.”

Clemson’s secondary is vulnerable

The Tigers played well against the pass for the majority of the season entering Friday night’s game, but Clemson’s secondary had several busts against Syracuse. Orange quarterback Eric Dungey passed for 278 yards and three touchdowns, while Steve Ishmael and Ervin Philips combined to catch 10 passes for 167 yards and two scores. Philips was wide open on a 66-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter that gave Syracuse a 14-7 lead.

“Those are layups. You’re not doing the little things right, trying to do a little bit too much, bad stuff’s going to happen,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “The scout team, Syracuse, the 49ers, anybody’s going to take advantage of you if you’re not doing the little things right.”

Tigers need to become more disciplined

Clemson committed nine penalties for 79 yards last week against Wake Forest and followed that by committing 11 penalties for 119 yards Friday night against Syracuse. Some of the infractions were effort plays, but Clemson’s defense was also offsides twice, was called for two roughing the passer penalties and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“We lacked discipline from the get-go,” Venables said. “When we can’t do the little things right before the ball is ever snapped and play within the rules, this won’t be the last loss that we have this year.”

Swinney was particularly unpleased with the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which was called on Tanner Muse for excessive celebration after his fumble return for a touchdown.

“One of them was a very disappointing penalty with a celebration, a bad gesture there,” Swinney said. “That’s not who we are. That was costly.”

Kicking job is up for grabs

Clemson kicker Alex Spence, who is replacing the injured Greg Huegel, was 1-for-3 on field-goal attempts. Spence missed from 35 and 38 yards in what turned out to be a three-point loss for the Tigers.

“We had opportunities. We missed kicks,” Swinney said. “We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities. They did.”

Spence is now 2-for-6 on field-goal attempts this season with his long on the year being 30 yards. Senior kicker Christian Groomes could get an opportunity to replace Spence after the bye week.

“Nobody’s more disappointed than Alex, but he hasn’t had a lot of experience in his time here. When we get the ball inside the 20, right around the 20, those are kicks we need to make,” Swinney said. “We’re back to the drawing board with that. We’ve got to get better. Our other option is Groomes. That’s one of the things we’ve got to get better at during this open date is develop some confidence to make those kicks.”

Clemson can still win the national championship

Even with the loss to Syracuse, Clemson can still return to the College Football Playoff for the third consecutive season. If the Tigers win out, they will almost assuredly win the ACC Atlantic Division, and if Clemson goes 12-1 with an ACC title, the defending champions should be included in the Final 4.

“The only thing off the table for this team is we’re not going to be 12-0. That’s for sure. That’s not going to happen,” Swinney said. “But other than that, there’s really nothing else that we still can’t strive for. We’ve still got an opportunity to win the division. Every goal that we have is still there for this team. We’ve got to make the right decision and regroup and come back together and get better from this.”