ESPN College GameDay experts favor Clemson, say SU’s chances are ‘slim and none’
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ESPN’s marquee college football show might receive a mixed welcome if it comes to Syracuse next week.
An upset win over No. 5 Clemson would make the Orange a main contender to host ESPN College GameDay when Notre Dame comes to town next Saturday.
This Saturday, however, the television crew tossed plenty of cold water on SU’s chances during its pre-game show, with Lee Corso delivering the most biting quip of the pre-game session.
“Syracuse has two chances to win this game,” Corso said, pausing for effect. “You know what they are? Slim and none. All their good wins have been at home in the Dome. This game is outside in the air. No way. Clemson big.”
Pat McAfee also relished in poking the underdogs and playing the heel.
“If Syracuse wins there’s a chance this show shows up in Upstate New York,” McAfee said. “That’s a shame. Never going to go there. Clemson is going to win and it’s going to be a sad story. Dino Babers is a good guy.”
Syracuse coach Dino Babers had a different perspective in an interview aired by the show.
“You have some interesting chess pieces in this game,” Babers said. “I think it’ll be a game to remember.”
ESPN’s four full-time pickers (Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, McAfee and Corso) all picked Clemson, although both Howard and Herbstreit said they believed it would be close.
“This game has a feel that it’s going to be close,” Herbstreit said. “You look at the last five or six years, Dino Babers hangs around with his scheme. Clemson is going to win but they’re going to have to work.”
Former Oregon women’s basketball player Sabrina Ionescu, the guest-picker on the show hosted in Oregon, picked Syracuse.
The television show highlighted one of Syracuse’s biggest games in decades primarily by discussing the matchup between Clemson’s offense and SU’s defense, as well as highlighting the recent history of close games between the schools.
Conversation about this year’s game centered on the matchup between Clemson’s offense and Tony White’s 3-3-5 defense, which ranks No. 1 in the ACC in both points and yards allowed.
“Tony White does that 3-3-5,” Herbstreit said. “It is a confusing defense. The way you simplify that is you run the football and win up front. They are blocking much better with that offensive line.”
Herbstreit, McAfee and multiple Clemson players suggested that the key to offsetting that movement is to catch the Orange moving and run the ball effectively. One of the keys to the game will likely be the ability of Clemson to get production out of running back Will Shipley.
Shipley is the centerpiece of a strong backfield stable that includes Phil Mafah and Kobe Pace. Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei is also a strong runner who is effective at picking up first downs.
Howard spotlighted Uiagalelei’s improved fitness from his disappointing freshman season, saying it helped him remain alert and capable of competing passes and escape more difficult situations this year, a key part of his improved statistics.
Later in the show, Dino Babers was interviewed live from Clemson and the opposite matchup was spotlighted, with ESPN analysts complimenting Sean Tucker, Garrett Shrader and Orande Gadsden II.
Howard noted Tucker’s speed, Shrader’s strength and SU’s ability to line up Gadsden in various places to find good matchups. Given the size and depth of Clemson’s front, Howard said he expected Syracuse to have to beat the Tigers by passing.
The hosts also discussed Syracuse’s upset win over Clemson in 2017, and the Tigers’ escape in 2018 behind backup quarterback Chase Brice, without which, the school wouldn’t have won a national title.
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