The Clemson Tigers are winning games with their defense. That was the case again Saturday in a gritty 18-13 win over the Syracuse Orange at JMA Wireless Dome in Week 10 of the 2026 college football season.
Jahiem Lawson returned a fumble 22 yards for the Tigers' only touchdown in the third quarter. It was a backwards pass by Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli that transfer defensive tackle Kourtney Kelly jarred loose on a pass rush. Lawson scooped it off the turf and ran in untouched, putting the the Tigers ahead, 18-6.
Clemson star cornerback Ashton Hampton had another big day, picking off a pass from Angeli on third-and-goal with Syracuse at the 3-yard line. Hampton also had two pass breakups in the Tigers' win, their second in a row.
With Saturday's
victory, Clemson (6-3, 4-2 ACC) is now bowl eligible for a 28th straight season. The Tigers host Georgia Tech (2-7, 1-6), the ACC's last-place team, at Memorial Stadium in Week 11.
After the game, Syracuse coach Fran Brown met with reporters to discuss his team's loss to Clemson. Here's what he said about the Tigers:
(Author's note: some answers have been edited for length.)
Fran Brown reflects on Syracuse loss to Clemson football
"I thought Clemson did an amazing job today. Coach Swinney and his staff, they had their guys pretty prepared to come in and play, come and compete in an ACC football game early Saturday. They did a great job. Hats go off to them... I hope their whole team gets back to South Carolina safe."
"Just got to come out and be able to score. Got to come out understanding and knowing what you want, push through, fight and make sure you get some points on the board. Weren't able to do that. (Clemson's) defense played better than our offense."
Syracuse coach Fran Brown asked about his relationship with Dabo Swinney
Brown and Swinney were seen shaking hands and chatting ahead of kickoff. The two have spoken warmly of one another since Brown was named Syracuse coach in November 2023.
Asked by a reporter if Brown could talk about his relationship with Swinney and if there were any words he could share following the coaches' conversation ahead of the game, Brown said:
"I wish him the best. I'll just keep (the rest) to myself. But he did a good job today and I'm excited for the opportunities that we'll have to to compete against each other in the future."
Fran Brown asked about slow pace of Clemson-Syracuse game
"Man, it was football. I mean, it sucked that we lost. When you look at that, that piece of it wasn't good, but it's just football. We needed another touchdown. We get another touchdown, there's a different setting at the moment. So, we've got to get another touchdown. I thought we were down there to get that and we ended up having a turnover. We can't (give) a turnover in the red (zone). That was when I thought we were going to score."
Fran Brown asked by reporter what was wrong with QB Steve Angeli in Syracuse loss to Clemson
Angeli completed only 18 of his 40 passes. He threw for 263 yards but turned the ball over twice and was sacked three times.
Brown said of Angeli afterwards:
"He just wasn't on. Just as a quarterback, you've got some of those days sometimes where you're not on. He wasn't able and wasn't hitting the way that he normally would hit."
Asked a follow-up question about Angeli's mobility and if he saw a difference between his performance against Clemson compared to Syracuse's last-minute win over SMU a week earlier, Brown said:
"It was pretty much the same. I thought he got hit early and then after he got hit, he was just a little off after being hit a little bit early. I thought he got hit early and then the offensive line settled down."
Brown added later:
"You've got to be able to come back and compete next week. He has to be able to hit some of those throws that weren't hit. I mean, he's a good player. He's understanding and knows what to do, but I have to help put him in a better position, too, to be able to make sure guys are calm and all that. So, he'll get it back. We've got to all work.
"But we lost this game today so there's a lot that we have to do and then I have to put them in better positions so that way he's able to go out there and compete and have fun and do it with calm feet, calm mindset and knowing what it is to be a quarterback. It's tough. Everybody has to do their job around you sometimes in order for your job to get done. So, I don't put all that stuff just on him. It starts with me as the head football coach. I've got to make sure that he's getting the right plays and all the right things."
Fran Brown says Syracuse defense was big, kept Orange in game against Clemson football
"I thought they did an amazing job," Brown said of Syracuse's defense, which held Clemson to four field goals as Nolan Hauser connected on four of his five kicks.
"A couple of big plays that we gave up, the big plays created some points. At times it was just field goals, but just for them to go into the red area and not giving up touchdowns, that meant a lot to us."
Asked about the resiliency of his defense to keep fighting and keep Syracuse in the game, Brown said:
"I thought they did an amazing job outside of a couple of big plays that we gave up. The big plays created some points. At times it was just field goals, but just for (Clemson) to go into the red area and not giving up touchdowns, that meant a lot to to us. That was good because it kept us in the game and gave us an opportunity to have a chance to win. Usually that last two minutes, we always get them out. Unfortunately today, we weren't able to get the ball back.
"(Clemson) did an amazing job. I think it was a quarterback run, it was a draw, something like that on third-and-long and they were able to get that off."
Did Syracuse respond to adversity after turnovers against Clemson? What Fran Brown said
"I think we continued to play. We just competing, just playing. I mean, we fought all the way down to the last play. All the way up to (Clemson) taking a knee. We stayed out there with good character and integrity... Got to take the wins with the losses. We've got to compete. Right now, we've got to push. We need to be able to go out and win next weekend."
Fran Brown talks about Clemson, Tait Reynolds targeting Syracuse DB Demetres Samuel Jr. in pass coverage
Samuel drew a pair of pass interference penalties when Reynolds threw the ball his way. Brown was asked what his message was to the sophomore defensive back afterwards. Here's his response:
"We've all just got to get better. Everybody's got to get better. Our entire team, we've just got to work. I've got to put them all in better positions to be able to do that... He should be fine, though. There's just some things I was telling him to do like back up, go do this. I had him playing a little outside of the box, so he'll do a lot better next weekend. Make sure he's able to go play his normal techniques and the things he usually does. That's on me when it comes to those plays that happened on him."
Watch Brown's full press conference below:
Clemson football schedule 2026
Clemson will face Georgia Tech at Clemson Memorial Stadium in Week 11 of the 2026 college football season. Kickoff is 12:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on The CW.
All times Eastern.
- Sept. 5: at LSU Tigers (L, 51-10)
- Sept. 12: vs. Georgia Southern Eagles (W, 22-7)
- Sept. 19: vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (W, 28-20)
- Sept. 25: at California Golden Bears (W, 24-10)
- Oct. 3: vs. Miami Hurricanes (L, 41-13)
- Oct. 17: vs. Charleston Southern Buccaneers (W, 37-0)
- Oct. 24: vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (L, 20-16)
- Oct. 31: at Florida State Seminoles (W, 36-24)
- Nov. 7: at Syracuse Orange (W, 18-13)
- Nov. 14: vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 12:30 p.m., The CW
- Nov. 20: at Duke Blue Devils, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
- Nov. 28: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks, TBA
Record: 6-3, 4-2 ACC.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: What Syracuse coach Fran Brown said about Clemson football after loss
