This could have been a clash of the unbeatens if it weren’t for Clemson taking down Syracuse a week ago.
The Orange will do their best to hand the Tarheels their first loss when the two meet up at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 7 at Kenan Stadium.
Fans looking to watch this college football game can do so for free on fuboTV, which offers a free trial (as well as RedZone, for you NFL fans) or on DirecTV Stream, which also offers a free trial. SlingTV has promotional offers available, as well.
Who: North Carolina Tar Heels vs Syracuse Orange
When: 3:30 PM ET, October 7, 2023
Where: Kenan Stadium
Stream: fuboTV (free trial); or Sling; or DirecTV Stream
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Clemson defense shows out with 5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles to beat previously unbeaten Syracuse 31-14
JAMES McCLENDON Associated Press
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Cade Klubnik threw two touchdown passes and Clemson’s high-powered defense made a statement on Saturday in a dominant 31-14 victory against previously unbeaten Syracuse.
The Tigers (3-2, 1-2 ACC) sacked Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader five times, picked him off once, and forced three fumbles. They recovered two of those fumbles, the first of which came on the Orange’s opening drive.
“We won the line of scrimmage,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “I mean, we did a heck of a job up front. I think we won the matchups up front and created some disruption and we challenged them. We forced the issue.”
On the first drive, Shrader took off for a 19-yard dash, but was hit hard and lost the ball. It was recovered by Clemson’s Payton Page at the Tigers’ 45-yard line. Clemson was initially called for a targeting penalty on the hit but after a review it was overturned.
“I just saw it clean,” Swinney said. “And it looked worse than it was because (Shrader) didn’t see him coming. He’s not a defenseless player. He’s running the ball and he’s not sliding. He’s not a guy that slides. He’s a punishing runner. I know it looked worse than it was, but I thought it was a clean hit from the get-go.”
The overturned call set Clemson up for a 14-yard touchdown on a pass from Klubnik to Troy Stellato for the first score of the game.
“Troy made a great play and just kept playing,” Klubnik said. “He threw his hand up and I just kind of found him in the end zone and it was a great play by him, just kind of making it work.”
Clemson led 21-7 at the half.
SU (4-1, 0-1) came to within 10 points early in the fourth quarter but a 32-yard rushing touchdown by Phil Mafah with just over six minutes to go sealed the game for the Tigers.
Klubnik finished 23 of 37 for 263 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler Brown caught eight balls for 153 yards and Will Shipley rushed 17 times for 66 yards and a score.
“When you’ve got a quarterback that can create and can throw on the run … just really proud of (Klubnik) for how he competed, and managed the game the whole day,” Swinney said. “Then obviously Tyler Brown. Just a tremendous, tremendous performance. I mean, he’s just gotten better and better each week. He plays hard without the ball and really has a good feel for the scramble drill.”
Shrader completed 15 of 29 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 24 yards on 15 keepers. LeQuint Allen carried the ball 14 times for 56 yards. He also caught six balls for 38 yards and a score.
THE TAKEAWAY
Clemson: The Tiger’s will need another strong defensive effort against Wake Forest next week. The Demon Deacons average 426 yards and 29 points per game.
Syracuse: Shrader and Allen, whose 12 combined rushing touchdowns led the nation heading into Saturday’s game, were held out of the end zone.
CONTESTED RIVALRY
Clemson and Syracuse have gone head-to-head 11 times since 2013. The Tigers have won 10 of those matchups, but six of those games have been decided by 10 points or fewer. That includes Clemson’s 27-21 victory a year ago.
SU’s only victory against the Tigers in the last decade came on Oct. 13, 2017. Clemson was undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the country at the time, but the Orange took that game 27-24.
UP NEXT
Clemson: The Tigers are home against Wake Forest on Saturday.
Syracuse: The Orange got to No. 15 University of North Carolina on Saturday.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
Drake Maye throws 296 yards, completes left-handed TD pass as No. 17 UNC beats Pitt 41-24
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Drake Maye tucked the ball under his arm, ran to his left, and immediately regretted the decision.
Momentarily, anyway.
The North Carolina quarterback soon found Pittsburgh defensive end Nate Temple clutching at him, with Panther defensive back A.J. Woods closing in.
No biggie. Maye fended off Temple with his right hand and jumped as Woods zeroed in, lobbing the ball with his left hand to a wide-open Kobe Paysour, the signature play of the 17th-ranked Tar Heels’ season and Maye’s career — so far — in a 41-24 victory over the Panthers on Saturday night.
“Sometimes those things turn into ‘No, no, no, yes!’” the right-handed Maye said with a shrug. “Just figured I wasn’t getting anywhere, had to figure something (out). Threw a duck up there. it wasn’t spinning at all. Kind of like a pancake.”
Kind of like perfect.
“I think I (told him) that may be the coolest play I’ve seen in college football,” said UNC coach Mack Brown, who turned 72 last month. “And I’ve seen a lot of plays.”
Few plays can match the athleticism and football IQ of Maye’s lefty masterpiece. The sophomore remembers making a basketball-style chest pass against Oregon in the Holiday Bowl last year and is adept at using his left hand to dish assists to his older brothers during pickup hoops, but never using his off-hand when it counts.
“It was just kind of an in-the-moment thing,” Maye said.
Maye finished 22 of 30 for 296 yards and added a pair of rushing touchdowns as the Tar Heels improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1997, the final year of Brown’s first stint at UNC before leaving for Texas.
“It’s something to build on,” Maye said.
Omarion Hampton ran for 66 yards and a touchdown for UNC. J.J. Jones caught six passes for 117 yards and Alijah Huzzie returned a punt 52 yards for a score and picked off two passes as the Tar Heels beat Pitt (1-3, 0-1) for the first time since 2018.
Rodney Hammond ran for 83 yards and a touchdown and Kenny Johnson raced 100 yards on a kickoff return for a score for the Panthers, who lost quarterback Phil Jurkovec to an undisclosed injury late in the first half after he took a hit by UNC’s Tayon Holloway, who was ejected for targeting on the play.
Jurkovec, who struggled in losses to Cincinnati and West Virginia, showed renewed confidence while completing 11 of 15 passes for 109 yards before exiting. Backup Christian Vellieux, a transfer from Penn State, hit on 8 of 19 for 88 yards with two interceptions.
“Tough ballgame against a good football team,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “Drake Maye is obviously a talented guy.”
Narduzzi and his team got an up-close look at just how talented after the Panthers took a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. UNC reeled off 31 of the next 34 points, with Maye running it in twice from 1 yard out to go with his lefty pass.
Huzzie weaved his way for the Tar Heels’ first punt return for a score since 2018 and later intercepted Veilleux twice to snuff out any chance Pitt had of getting back in the game.
“I’m going to take Huzzie out to diner on the bye week, whatever he wants, on me,” Maye said. “Anytime you see (his) No. 28 and the ball in the air, you know something good is going to happen.”
THE TAKEAWAY
UNC: The Tar Heels have plenty to work on heading into their bye week. The defense had trouble with Pitt’s hardly potent offense and the special teams allowed a blocked punt and a kickoff return touchdown. Still, they get to work on those things while being undefeated and heading into the teeth of a schedule that doesn’t look as daunting as it did a month ago.
Pitt: It might not matter who the quarterback is if the offensive line can’t make significant improvements. Jurkovec was hit regularly on dropbacks before leaving and Veilleux was under heavy duress.
UP NEXT
UNC: Begins a stretch of three straight games at Kenan Memorial Stadium on Oct. 7 when Syracuse visits.
Pitt: At Virginia Tech next Saturday. The Panthers have won each of their last three meetings with the Hokies.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
