Clemson football plays Syracuse today: Kickoff time, TV channel, score

Clemson football heads to upstate New York this weekend seeking its first conference win against a tricky opponent in a tricky environment.

Here’s your gameday guide for the Tigers’ ACC battle with Syracuse on Saturday.

What channel is the Clemson vs. Syracuse game on?

Who: Clemson (2-2, 0-2 ACC) at Syracuse (4-0, 0-0 ACC)

When: noon Saturday

Where: JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

TV: ABC

Broadcast crew: Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill

Stream: Via ESPN.com or the ESPN app

Radio: 105.5 FM in the Clemson area (see all Clemson radio affiliates here)

Satellite radio: SiriusXM 136 or 201

Series history: Clemson leads 9-2 and has won last 5

Clemson vs. Syracuse Vegas odds

Despite losing to Florida State, Clemson is a 6.5-point road favorite against Syracuse, according to the VegasInsider.com consensus line. Nearly 82% of bettors are taking Syracuse +6.5, per the site, which means they’re expecting the Orange to win outright or lose by six or fewer points.

The over-under for the game is 56.5 points

The pick, prediction

ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Syracuse a 55.1% chance to win the game.

Weather forecast for Syracuse, NY

This won’t be an issue for the game itself, since the JMA Wireless Dome is climate-controlled. But it’ll still be a nice Saturday in Syracuse: sunny with a high of 75 degrees, per Weather.com.

Top storylines for the game

• One of Clemson’s most impressive streaks is on the line Saturday — the Tigers haven’t lost back-to-back games within a single season since November 2011. That 158-game streak without consecutive losses is the longest in program history as well as the nation’s longest active streak. Under coach Dabo Swinney, Clemson has also won 80% of its games following losses (record of 32-8). Clemson preserved this streak earlier in the year after losing at Duke by routing Charleston Southern. But, following an overtime loss to FSU, getting it done against Syracuse over an FCS team is a different challenge.

• Clemson has won nine of 10 meetings with Syracuse since the Orange joined the ACC in 2013, but those games have rarely been pushovers. Syracuse, which played Clemson annually from 2013-22 in the old ACC Atlantic Division, has stayed within a touchdown of Clemson in two of their last four and in four of their last six meetings. That includes Syracuse’s upset of No. 2 Clemson in 2017. Coach Dino Babers’ squad has also covered the spread against Clemson in five of the last six meetings despite being a double-digit underdog in each contest (including last year’s loss in Death Valley).

• On the injury front, the status of two prominent Clemson starters won’t be revealed until 90 minutes before kickoff. Swinney said Wednesday that starting slot receiver Antonio Williams (ankle) and cornerback Nate Wiggins (knee) remain day-to-day heading into the Syracuse game. It’s to be determined if they travel up with the team Friday. Williams hurt his ankle against FAU and missed the FSU game, while Wiggins was injured late in the FSU game (though his injury isn’t as serious as Clemson initially feared).

• Swinney described the JMA Wireless Dome (formerly the Carrier Dome) as a “unique” place to play a game. Clemson, making its trip to Syracuse since 2021, will have a new kicker (Jonathan Weitz), a new punter (Aidan Swanson) and a new punt returner (Tyler Brown) who all have to deal with what Swinney describes as a different sort of depth perception, given the stadium’s roof. That’ll especially be worth monitoring with Weitz, who came out of retirement to replace the struggling Robert Gunn III at kicker last week and missed a potential game-winning 29-yard field goal against Florida State.

Clemson vs. Syracuse players to watch

• Clemson WR Tyler Brown: It took less than a game for Brown, a true freshman who played locally at Greenville High, to establish himself as one of Clemson’s top receivers. He had five catches for a career-high 84 yards against Florida State and scored two touchdowns against FAU, the first freshman WR to do that since Justyn Ross in 2018.

• Clemson DE Xavier Thomas: Finally healthy and in excellent shape, Thomas is causing some serious havoc off the edge. His four tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss against Florida State were both season highs. The sixth-year player also had a big sack.

• Syracuse QB Garrett Shrader: The Orange’s starting quarterback is more of a power runner than a flat-out burner, but he has six rushing touchdowns this season and is averaging 6.8 yards per carry. On top of that, he’s setting career highs as a passer.

• Syracuse DB Jeremiah Wilson: Wilson is No. 1 in the ACC and No. 8 nationally with six passes defended and is one of the leaders of a defense allowing just 10.8 points per game, its fewest through four games since 1983.

Clemson 2023 football schedule

• Sept. 4: at Duke, 28-7 L

• Sept. 9: vs. Charleston Southern, 66-17 W

• Sept. 16: vs. Florida Atlantic, 48-14 W

• Sept. 23: vs. Florida State, 31-24 L (OT)

• Sept. 30: at Syracuse, noon, ABC

• Oct. 7: vs. Wake Forest, 3:30 p.m., ACC Network

• Oct. 14: OPEN

• Oct. 21: at Miami

• Oct. 28: at N.C. State

• Nov. 4: vs. Notre Dame

• Nov. 11: vs. Georgia Tech

• Nov. 18: vs. North Carolina

• Nov. 25: at South Carolina

Clemson 2023 depth chart

Offense

• QB: Cade Klubnik (Hunter Helms)

• RB: Will Shipley OR Phil Mafah (Domonique Thomas)

• Outside WR: Beaux Collins (Troy Stellato)

• Outside WR: Adam Randall OR Brannon Spector

• Slot WR: Antonio Williams (Tyler Brown)

• TE: Jake Briningstool (Sage Ennis)

• LT: Tristan Leigh OR Collin Sadler

• LG: Marcus Tate (Trent Howard)

• C: Will Putnam (Ryan Linthicum OR Trent Howard)

• RG: Mitchell Mayes (Harris Sewell)

• RT: Blake Miller (Mitchell Mayes)

Defense

• DE: Xavier Thomas (T.J. Parker)

• DT: Tyler Davis OR Peter Woods (Payton Page)

• DT: Ruke Orhorhoro OR Peter Woods (DeMonte Capehart)

• DE: Justin Mascoll (Cade Denhoff)

• Strongside LB: Wade Woodaz (Jamal Anderson)

• Middle LB: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (Kobe McCloud OR Dee Crayton)

• Weakside LB: Barrett Carter (Wade Woodaz)

• CB: Sheridan Jones (Toriano Pride Jr.)

• SS: R.J. Mickens (Sherrod Covil Jr.)

• FS: Jalyn Phillips (Kylon Griffin)

• Nickelback: Andrew Mukuba (Khalil Barnes)

• CB: Nate Wiggins (Jeadyn Lukus)

Special teams

• PK: Jonathan Weitz OR Robert Gunn III

• P: Aidan Swanson (Jack Smith)

• KO: Robert Gunn III (Aidan Swanson)

• LS (PK): Holden Caspersen (Philip Florenzo)

• LS (P): Philip Florenzo (Holden Caspersen)

• H: Clay Swinney

• PR: Antonio Williams OR Tyler Brown

• KOR: Will Shipley (Tyler Brown)