Syracuse head coach Dino Babers says Clemson is a championship team

Dino Babers and the Orange have had plenty to smile about in a 6-0 start. (Photo: Gregory Fisher / USATODAY)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Oct 19 12:56:03 GMT-04:00 2022

Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said that beating Clemson at home in Death Valley is a difficult task, something the numbers bear out.

No. 5 Clemson (7-0 overall and 5-0 ACC) hosts No. 14 Syracuse (6-0, 3-0) at noon Saturday (ABC) in a battle of unbeatens. Clemson enters the game on a 37-game home winning streak and will attempt to take sole possession of the longest home winning streak in ACC history, as a win would allow the Tigers to surpass the Florida State Seminoles' 37-game streak from 1992-2001.

Clemson would tie the 1919-27 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (38) for the 10th-longest home winning streak in FBS history. Those Irish teams under the guidance of College Football Hall of Famer Knute Rockne were a combined 78-7-3 at all venues in the seasons comprising that streak.

Babers knows what the Orange are facing.

“Coach Swinney does a fantastic job, and there’s no doubt about it,” Babers said. “Some of the finest athletes in the conference and the country. Not only do they have fantastic individuals, but they’re also a good football team. They have an amazing streak going on down there. To be able to beat them at their place is obviously a very difficult task for a lot of coaches and a lot of programs. Clemson is a championship team. Those guys aren’t going to give up.”

Babers said this Clemson team is better than the one the Orange faced last season, and he gives much of the credit to quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.

“I think he is much better. Much more improved,” Babers said. “Their offense has changed dramatically based off of his improvement, and it’s a testament to him.”

Clemson should have close to a sell-out crowd for homecoming, and Babers knows the noise could create problems for his offense.

“When we’re out there in JMA (formerly the Carrier Dome), we really don’t want any noise so our offense can operate without the noise,” Babers said. “So this will be the first opportunity for our offense to operate the way other people’s offenses operate in the JMA.”

Saturday will represent the 11th meeting between Clemson and Syracuse all-time and the 10th in regular season play. The Orange won the first meeting at the 1996 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville following the 1995 season by a 41-0 score. Clemson was ranked 23rd entering the game and was coming off a five-game winning streak to close the season. Syracuse was unranked going into the game but jumped to 17th in the final USA Today poll with the win quarterbacked by Donovan McNabb.

Clemson has won eight of nine meetings since Syracuse joined the ACC in 2013. The Tigers had won four in a row by at least double digits before Syracuse ended the streak with a 27-24 Friday night win over the Tigers at Syracuse in 2017.