‘Unethical’: ACC fines Syracuse for faking injuries during Clemson game
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik went viral Saturday when he said Syracuse defenders were faking injuries at times during their win at Memorial Stadium.
Turns out, the ACC agreed with him.
The conference announced Monday it was fining Syracuse $25,000 and publicly reprimanding the university for violating NCAA rules regarding faking injuries.
The ACC said Syracuse’s specific violation occurred at the 9:25 mark of the fourth quarter of its 34-21 win at Clemson, while Klubnik and the Tigers had the ball on offense and were trying to snap the ball quickly while facing a big deficit.
Trailing Syracuse by 20 points (34-14), Clemson picked up 23 yards on a pass from Klubnik to receiver Tristan Smith, who broke multiple tackles and advanced to Syracuse’s 9-yard line. The Tigers hurried to the line of scrimmage without huddling when two Syracuse players dropped to the field.
“The actions by the two players — especially with the concurrent action by the coach in the team area — were a clear attempt to gain an unmerited advantage by stopping the game in order to secure an injury timeout,” the ACC said.
The ACC said Syracuse specifically violated NCAA Football Rule 3-3-6-b and said the actions by Syracuse were “unethical and contrary to the spirit of the rules.”
The league did not identify either of the players or the coach it said were involved, but a review of the game broadcast shows Syracuse defensive linemen Nissi Ogbebor (No. 93) and Kevin Jobity Jr. (No. 94) hitting the grass in the moments after Smith’s catch and prompting referees to whistle an injury timeout.
The ACC league office and NCAA national coordinator of football officials Steve Shaw both reviewed the play in question, according to a league statement.
Shaw “also agreed that the action violated the spirit of the injury timeout and fair play and was done in a way to circumvent the new injury timeout rule to avoid the team being charged a timeout,” the ACC said.
The NCAA attempted to crack down on teams faking injuries to stop the game clock (especially when a team is on defense) this offseason after there were multiple issues with it in 2024, including with Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss team.
Under new NCAA rules for 2025, a team will be charged with a timeout if a player “presents as injured” after the ball is spotted. A player who drops down with an injury must also leave the game for at least one play.
Most of Syracuse’s defensive injuries (including the violation at the 9:25 mark of the fourth quarter) occurred after plays but before the ball was spotted for Clemson’s next play. Clemson’s home crowd began to notice the trend and booed Syracuse multiple times.
“That’s up to them if they want to be honest about that,” Klubnik said postgame.
Syracuse’s $25,000 institutional fine is the maximum allowed under league bylaws for this sort of violation and will go into the league’s postgraduate scholarship fund.
Clemson dropped to 1-3 and 0-2 in the ACC after Saturday’s home loss to Syracuse, its worst ever start under coach Dabo Swinney and worst overall in 21 years.
This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 9:18 AM.
