October 13, 2017 Week 7 · Regular Season Belt changed hands

Syracuse takes the belt, 27–24, at home over Clemson.

Home · New Holder

Syracuse 27

Away · Defending Holder

ClemsonAP No. 2 24

AP poll, week 7: Clemson No. 2 at Syracuse unranked · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Syracuse took the belt here, ending Clemson’s run of 277 days and 6 defenses (reign #298) and starting reign #299. It lasted 8 days and 0 defenses, until Miami took it on October 21, 2017.

For Syracuse this was its 13th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 3 times before — and it took it back here.

This is the only time Clemson and Syracuse have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

Syracuse took control of the College Football Belt with a 27-24 victory over Clemson at home, outgaining the Tigers 440 to 317 total yards and dominating time of possession 34:52 to 25:08. Eric Dungey orchestrated a dynamic Orange offense, connecting with Dontae Strickland for an early touchdown and later finding Ervin Philips for a 66-yard score in the first quarter to establish an early lead. Clemson fought back with Tavien Feaster's 37-yard touchdown run and Travis Etienne's explosive 52-yard scoring run in the third quarter, but Syracuse's balanced attack and superior third-down conversion rate (8-19 vs. 2-11) proved decisive. The decisive sequence came in the fourth quarter when Cole Murphy added a 30-yard field goal with 9:41 remaining to secure the belt for the Orange.

Dontae Strickland 23-yard TD reception in Q1 -- Syracuse struck first, setting the tone for offensive momentum
Ervin Philips 66-yard TD catch in Q1 -- Extended Syracuse's lead with a big play that showcased Dungey's arm
Tanner Muse 63-yard fumble return for TD in Q2 -- Syracuse's defense created the turnover that proved crucial to their point total
Cole Murphy 30-yard FG with 9:41 left in Q4 -- The decisive field goal that locked up the belt for Syracuse

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

SyracuseClemson

Total yards440317

Rushing yards162113

Passing yards278204

First downs2816

3rd down conv.8/192/11

Turnovers10

Penalties–yards12–10011–119

Time of possession34:5225:08

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 11:44	Syracuse	+23 yd	Dontae Strickland 23 Yd pass from Eric Dungey (Cole Murphy Kick)
Q1 14:50	Syracuse	+21 yd	Eric Dungey run for 21 yds to the Syrac 44 for a 1ST down
Q1 15:00	Clemson	+20 yd	Alex Spence kickoff for 57 yds , Sean Riley return for 20 yds to the Syrac 28
Q1 10:37	Clemson	+37 yd	Tavien Feaster 37 Yd Run (Alex Spence Kick)
Q1 11:44	Syracuse	+25 yd	Cole Murphy kickoff for 67 yds , Travis Etienne return for 25 yds to the Clem 38
Q1 8:20	Clemson	+24 yd	Kelly Bryant pass complete to Milan Richard for 24 yds to the Syrac 19 for a 1ST down
Q1 5:52	Clemson	+35 yd	Alex Spence 35 yd FG MISSED
Q1 7:00	Clemson	+0 yd	Kelly Bryant pass complete to Ray-Ray McCloud for no gain Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled, forced by Zaire Franklin, recovered by Clem Hunter Renfrow
Q1 5:13	Syracuse	+66 yd	Ervin Philips 66 Yd pass from Eric Dungey (Cole Murphy Kick)
Q1 5:13	Syracuse	+28 yd	Cole Murphy kickoff for 65 yds , Travis Etienne return for 28 yds to the Clem 28
Q2 11:30	Syracuse	+20 yd	Eric Dungey pass complete to Ravian Pierce for 20 yds to the Syrac 26 for a 1ST down
Q2 8:31	Syracuse	-63 yd	Tanner Muse 63 Yd Fumble Return (Alex Spence Kick)
Q2 5:30	Syracuse	+28 yd	Eric Dungey pass complete to Ravian Pierce for 28 yds to the Clem 7 for a 1ST down
Q2 3:49	Syracuse	+21 yd	Cole Murphy 21 Yd Field Goal
Q2 8:31	Clemson	+23 yd	Alex Spence kickoff for 63 yds , Sean Riley return for 23 yds to the Syrac 40
Q2 1:58	Syracuse	+20 yd	Sterling Hofrichter punt for 35 yds, fair catch by Ray-Ray McCloud at the SYRACUSE 30 for a 1ST down SYRACUSE Penalty, Kick Catching Interference (Shyheim Cullen) to the Clem 45 for a 1ST down
Q3 8:27	Clemson	+30 yd	Alex Spence 30 Yd Field Goal
Q3 7:12	Syracuse	+30 yd	Steve Ishmael 30 Yd pass from Eric Dungey (Cole Murphy Kick)
Q3 8:00	Syracuse	+45 yd	Eric Dungey run for 45 yds to the Clem 35 for a 1ST down
Q3 6:16	Clemson	+52 yd	Travis Etienne 52 Yd Run (Alex Spence Kick)
Q3 0:45	Clemson	+38 yd	Alex Spence 38 yd FG MISSED
Q4 14:00	Syracuse	-6 yd	Eric Dungey run for a loss of 6 yards to the Syrac 44 Eric Dungey fumbled, recovered by Syrac Dontae Strickland
Q4 9:41	Syracuse	+30 yd	Cole Murphy 30 Yd Field Goal

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Syracuse

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Eric Dungey	20/32	278	8.7	3	0	61.7
Devin C. Butler	0/1	0	0.0	0	0	3.3

Clemson

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	QBR
Kelly Bryant	12/17	116	6.8	45.7
Zerrick Cooper	10/14	88	6.3	37.1
Will Spiers	0/1	0	0.0	0.0

Rushing

Syracuse

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
Dontae Strickland	19	78	4.1	9
Eric Dungey	21	61	2.9	45
Moe Neal	3	23	7.7	11
Tyrone Perkins	2	7	3.5	5
Ervin Philips	1	4	4.0	4
Zack Mahoney	1	-2	-2.0	0
Team	3	-9	-3.0	0

Clemson

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Travis Etienne	5	68	13.6	1	52
Tavien Feaster	7	57	8.1	1	37
Adam Choice	3	12	4.0	0	6
Amari Rodgers	1	-6	-6.0	0	0
Kelly Bryant	4	-8	-2.0	0	4
Zerrick Cooper	5	-10	-2.0	0	5

Receiving

Syracuse

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Ervin Philips	4	94	23.5	1	66
Steve Ishmael	6	73	12.2	1	30
Ravian Pierce	4	66	16.5	0	28
Dontae Strickland	2	20	10.0	1	23
Jamal Custis	1	15	15.0	0	15
Devin C. Butler	2	10	5.0	0	9
Tyrone Perkins	1	0	0.0	0	0

Clemson

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	LONG
Hunter Renfrow	5	64	12.8	15
Deon Cain	7	55	7.9	10
Milan Richard	3	41	13.7	24
Ray-Ray McCloud	4	23	5.8	12
Amari Rodgers	1	13	13.0	13
Diondre Overton	1	6	6.0	6
Trevion Thompson	1	2	2.0	2

Show more stats (6 more categories)

Defense

Syracuse

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Parris Bennett	9	6	1	1	0	0
Evan Foster	8	5	0	0	1	0
Alton Robinson	5	5	1	1	0	0
Christopher Fredrick	5	3	0	0	0	0
Juwan Dowels	5	2	0	0	0	0
Rodney Williams	4	2	0	1	0	0
Zaire Franklin	4	1	1	1	0	0
Chris Slayton	3	3	1	1	0	0
Jonathan Thomas	3	0	0	0	0	1
Jordan Martin	2	2	0	0	0	0
Brandon Berry	2	2	0	0	0	0
Devin M. Butler	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kielan Whitner	1	0	0	0	0	0
Scoop Bradshaw	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kenneth Ruff	1	0	0	0	0	0
McKinley Williams	1	0	0	0	0	0
Sean Riley	0	0	0	0	1	0

Clemson

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Kendall Joseph	12	6	0	0	0	0
Dorian O'Daniel	10	8	1.5	1.5	1	0
Clelin Ferrell	9	7	3.5	5.5	0	0
Dexter Lawrence	9	5	0	0	0	0
Tanner Muse	5	3	0	0	1	0
Ryan Carter	4	3	0	0	0	0
Austin Bryant	4	2	0.5	0.5	0	1
K'Von Wallace	3	3	0	0	0	0
Mark Fields	3	2	0	1	0	0
Christian Wilkins	3	1	0.5	0.5	0	0
Isaiah Simmons	3	1	0	0	1	0
Kyle Cote	2	2	0	0	0	0
Chris Register	2	1	0	0	0	0
Trayvon Mullen	2	1	0	0	0	0
Van Smith	2	0	0	0	0	0
Jabril Robinson	1	1	0	0	0	0
Kelly Bryant	1	1	0	0	0	0
J.D. Davis	1	1	0	0	0	0
Albert Huggins	1	1	0	0	0	0
Chad Smith	1	1	0	0	0	0
Tre Lamar	1	0	0	0	0	0
A.J. Terrell	1	0	0	0	1	0

Fumbles

Syracuse

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Dontae Strickland	1	1	0
Eric Dungey	1	0	0

Clemson

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Ray-Ray McCloud	1	0	0
Tanner Muse	0	0	1

Kick Returns

Syracuse

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Sean Riley	4	77	19.3	23	0

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Travis Etienne	2	53	26.5	28	0

Kicking

Syracuse

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Cole Murphy	2/2	100.0	30	3/3	9

Clemson

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Alex Spence	1/3	33.3	30	3/3	6

Punt Returns

Syracuse

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Sean Riley	1	5	5.0	5	0

Clemson

No recorded stats in this category.

Punting

Syracuse

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Sterling Hofrichter	5	184	36.8	0	0	43

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Will Spiers	5	214	42.8	0	0	50

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 400937493) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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