‘We got some dudes, man’: Facing more doubts, new-look TCU is ready to write its own chapter
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Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff Writer
TCU coach Sonny Dykes isn’t big on playing the disrespect card or any other chip-on-your-shoulder motivation. If his players want to use it, that’s their prerogative.
He prefers a more straightforward approach.
“We lost two of our last three games last year,” Dykes said this week. “So I think [the players] are hungry and ready to get back out and win some football games.”
Nevermind that those two games — a 31-28 Big 12 title heartbreaker to Kansas State in overtime, and a 65-7 humbling by Georgia in the College Football Playoff National Championship — just happened to be in huge games that the Frogs were never expected to reach (and were sandwiched on either end of a thrilling 51-45 semifinal win over Michigan in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl).
The bigger issue facing this year’s team is that much of the heart and soul of that 13-2 Cinderella season is gone:
Starting quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan. First-round draft pick Quentin Johnston at receiver. Linebacker Dee Winters, the defensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl. First-team All-Big 12 running back Kendre Miller. Thorpe Award winner Tre’vius Hodges-Tomlinson at corner. Consensus All-American Steve Avila at guard. Not to mention that last year’s offensive coordinator, Garrett Riley, is busy installing his offense at Clemson, where he was introduced four days after the Georgia game. His replacement, Kendal Briles, inherits a group that only returns 33% of its offensive production from Riley’s crew.
So it’s fair that TCU begins this season as it did last year, with a healthy amount of skepticism. Can a program that patched together a historic run maintain that standard despite the losses? The questions led the Frogs to a fifth-place prediction in this year’s Big 12 media poll.
For Dykes, though, there’s a quiet confidence he has, all based on the way his team is moving on after the ride stopped.
“The ‘want to’ is really there,” Dykes said. “It’s a mature group. We lost a lot of older guys off the team last year, a lot of leadership. But this team seems, so far, even more focused and more dedicated and even more mature.”
There are reasons for his optimism. It’s clear that Dykes’ relationships in Texas, combined with his early success at TCU, garnered plenty of attention from other Power 5 players looking for a new home.
Last year’s transfer group was filled with under-the-radar types that proved to be hidden gems. That includes linebacker Johnny Hodges, the Frogs’ leading tackler, who arrived from Navy after TCU was the only Power 5 school to extend an offer, Josh Newton, a first-team all-Big 12-corner from Louisiana-Monroe, key defensive line rotation members from Stephen F. Austin (Caleb Fox) and UConn (Lwal Uguak) and Louisiana running back Emani Bailey, who led the Big 12 in yards per carry (8.1) in a backup role.
“For us, a good player is a good player, a productive player is a productive player and a lot of times it doesn’t matter if they’re from Southwest Assemblies of God or from Alabama,” Dykes said, mentioning defensive linemen Tico Brown, who transferred from Missouri State last year and Rick D’Abreu, who came from East Carolina this year. “I don’t know that it means that much to us.”
Still, there were several former star recruits at big programs who fit with this year’s mission. Dykes brought in three players from Alabama (running back Trey Sanders, wide receiver JoJo Earle and offensive tackle Tommy Brockermeyer), along with several other receivers to restock after the departures of three Frogs, including first-round pick Johnston, to the NFL. They, too, came from big programs: Jaylon Robinson from Ole Miss, JP Richardson from Oklahoma State, Jack Bech from LSU and Dylan Wright from Minnesota. They also added corner Avery Helm from Florida.
Richardson, who caught five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown against TCU last year, described what he saw from them that appealed to him.
“There’s so much to learn [from last year],” Richardson said. “All the adversity they had to face. They had to fight back and win a lot of games and every week, with people just thinking, ‘They’re gonna go down. It’s got to end soon, right?’ And they just kept on winning.”
Dykes said his staff had connections to several of the players from recruiting them in the past, including Earle and Brockermeyer who both played high school football in the Fort Worth vicinity, as did Robinson and Wright. Richardson, the son of former Texas A&M quarterback Bucky Richardson, also had a previous relationship with Dykes.
“I’ve known Sonny for a little bit,” JP Richardson said. “How crazy is this? He was my uncle’s roommate at Texas Tech.”
Richardson, who coaches say has been a standout in practice since arriving, said he’s been impressed by the talent on hand at receiver, including returners like Savion Williams, four-star freshman recruit Cordale Russell and tight end Jared Wiley.
“We got some dudes, man,” he said. “We should be pretty explosive. We definitely have the guys in the room to make it happen. We’re going to be really fast. Really, really, really high tempo.”
Along with those transfers, Dykes said he’s excited about the newfound depth provided by the freshman class, which was the highest-rated group the Frogs have ever signed (19th nationally in ESPN’s rankings and third in the Big 12 behind Texas and Oklahoma).
“The freshman class is very talented and deep and better than advertised, I think,” he said. “I mean, we have eight young defensive linemen that we’re very excited about. Typically you might have two or three or four, maybe, you know, if you’re lucky. We have eight, so that part’s exciting.”
Hodges, a former nuclear engineering major at the Naval Academy, also isn’t much for hyperbole. Since arriving a year ago to help plug a hole for a team coming off a 5-7 season, he’s now an elder statesman of a team coming off a College Football Playoff appearance, but says it doesn’t feel that way.
“There’s really, really not much of a difference,” Hodges, who was the Big 12 defensive newcomer of the year, said. “I know we made it where we made it last year but [strength coach] Kaz [Kazadi] and our strength staff have just done a great job: one, humbling us; two, being honest — we lost the championship game by 60; three, we’re projected just as low as we were last year to finish in the Big 12 and in the national media. So the feelings aren’t different. We’ve got a chip on our shoulder. I really like the vibes we’re going through. I really like our vibes.”
But unlike last year, their season opener won’t be a sleepy nonconference game on a Friday night. This year’s rematch with Colorado is a preview of a future Big 12 matchup as the Buffs prepare to enter the league next year, with the star power of Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, along with an almost completely new roster after 71 players entered the transfer portal as Sanders embarked on an extreme makeover.
“Wherever Deion goes, people are interested,” Dykes said. “There will be a lot of eyes on the game.”
Frogs quarterback Chandler Morris started against the Buffaloes last season before suffering an MCL sprain in the third quarter and giving way to Duggan, who rode his hot hand all the way to the national title game. This year, he’s the entrenched starter after watching and waiting a year longer than he expected.
“Dude has what it takes,” offensive lineman Steven Coleman said. “He was already the starter. He’s been doing a great job working, has been a great job of being a leader, even if we’re just doing offseason conditioning. He’s gonna do a good job this year.”
Along with Morris, the newcomers like Richardson are excited to see where this year’s team can go, starting Sept. 2.
“We’re gonna have to come out there and earn it,” he said. “Everybody’s bought into what [the coaches] are trying to push to what we’re trying to accomplish. And that’s ultimately to win a Big 12 championship and win a national championship. I think we’ve got all the talent in the world to do it. And I’m just so excited to show everybody what we got.”
Dykes and TCU hope to keep the momentum going as the Big 12 morphs into a sprawling 16-team conference next year, an opportunity to sell an exciting future with a path to a 12-team playoff. The Horned Frogs are eager to shake off a humbling end to an otherwise remarkable season and keep climbing.
“It feels like we have a strong future in our program,” Dykes said. “This team has an opportunity to be pretty good. We’ll see how it all works out and how it comes together. But I think we’re in a pretty, pretty good place to start with.”
And he’s just as curious how it all will start unfolding in that first September weekend in Fort Worth against Sanders and the Buffaloes.
“If I didn’t have a game on Sept. 2, I’d watch it,” Dykes said. “It’ll be interesting to see who’s playing for them — and for us.”
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Kyle Bonagura
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Kyle Bonagura
ESPN Staff Writer
- Covers college football.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Attended Washington State University.
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Mark Schlabach
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Mark Schlabach
ESPN Senior Writer
- Senior college football writer
- Author of seven books on college football
- Graduate of the University of Georgia
Week 4 did not produce any seismic upsets, but as always, there were plenty of eye-opening results that impacted the College Football Playoff picture and beyond.
Among the games that altered perceptions were Indiana’s dismantling of Illinois, decisive wins by Texas Tech (at Utah) and Ole Miss (over Tulane), and road victories by Syracuse (at Clemson) and Michigan (at Nebraska).
As in last season’s inaugural 12-team CFP, the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams, will make the field. Unlike last year, the four highest-ranked teams (not necessarily conference champions) will be awarded first-round byes. The other eight teams will meet in first-round games at the campus sites of seeds Nos. 5 through 8.
From there, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in what had been the New Year’s Six bowls, with this season’s national championship game scheduled for Jan. 19 at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
All of that is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Apart from the playoff is the 35-game slate of bowl games, beginning with the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Dec. 13.
We’re here for all of it.
ESPN bowl gurus Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach are projecting every postseason matchup, including their breakdowns of how the playoff will play out, and we’ll be back every week of the season until the actual matchups are set.
Jump to a section:
Playoff picks | Quarterfinals
Semis, title game | Bowl season
College Football Playoff
First-round games (at campus sites)
Friday, Dec. 19/Saturday, Dec. 20
Times and networks TBD.
Bonagura: No. 12 South Florida at No. 5 LSU
Schlabach: No. 12 South Florida at No. 5 Oregon
Bonagura: No. 11 Texas Tech at No. 6 Miami
Schlabach: No. 11 Indiana at No. 6 Penn State
Bonagura: No. 10 Texas at No. 7 Florida State
Schlabach: No. 10 Texas A&M at No. 7 Florida State
Bonagura: No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 8 Indiana
Schlabach: No. 9 Texas Tech at No. 8 Oklahoma
First-round breakdown
Bonagura: Two teams worth highlighting this week are Indiana and Texas Tech, both of which had huge wins against conference teams that were in these projections a week ago (Illinois and Utah). These games weren’t just wins, they were statements. Indiana beat Illinois by 53, and Tech beat Utah by 24.
For Texas Tech, the win should establish the Red Raiders as the favorite in the Big 12 — a conference that will have a tough time getting two teams in the playoff. For Indiana, the road is more difficult — but it’s manageable. The only ranked teams left on its schedule are Oregon and Penn State, so if the Hoosiers hold serve in the games they’re favored in and finish 10-2, that should be good enough to get in the playoff. Of course, this appears to be a team that can go toe-to-toe with anyone, so it’s premature to write off any games as losses.
Schlabach: It was another wild Saturday, and my playoff bracket has three new teams after Illinois, Tulane and Utah were on the wrong side of blowouts.
Texas Tech spent a boatload of cash boosting its roster this past offseason, and it paid off in Saturday’s 34-10 victory at Utah. The victory puts the Red Raiders and Iowa State in the driver’s seat in the Big 12 race, and those teams won’t play each other in the regular season. In fact, Texas Tech doesn’t face another Big 12 opponent that is currently ranked in the AP poll the rest of the way.
Indiana’s 63-10 rout of No. 9 Illinois put the rest of the Big 10 on notice. It was the Hoosiers’ first victory over a top-10 opponent in five years and its most lopsided win over one in school history. The Hoosiers play at Oregon on Oct. 11 and at Penn State on Nov. 8, so there won’t be any questions about their strength of schedule if they get back into the CFP for the second straight season.
USF, which beat Boise State and Florida earlier this season, returns to my 12-team bracket. The Bulls blasted FCS program South Carolina State 63-14, and they’re my fifth conference champion after Tulane lost 45-10 at Ole Miss on Saturday. I also strongly considered Memphis, which knocked off Arkansas 32-31 at home.
CFP quarterfinals
Wednesday, Dec. 31
CFP quarterfinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
7:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 7 Florida State vs. No. 2 Oregon
Schlabach: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU
Thursday, Jan. 1
CFP quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)
Noon, ESPN
Bonagura: No. 5 LSU vs. No. 4 Penn State
Schlabach: No. 7 Florida State vs. No. 2 Miami
CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California)
4 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 9 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 9 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Ohio State
CFP quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 6 Miami vs. No. 3 Georgia
Schlabach: No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Georgia
Quarterfinals breakdown
Bonagura: The tastiest hypothetical quarterfinal matchup here is Georgia vs. Miami, which would feature Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck against his former team. The downside is that storyline would be so dominant everyone would quickly get tired of hearing about it.
Ohio State vs. Oklahoma looks good too, but then again that’s the whole point of the playoff. These are all enticing games.
Schlabach: These potential matchups would produce some intriguing storylines, with Florida State and Miami potentially meeting for a second (or third?) time. The Hurricanes have already taken down USF and Florida, and they’ll play the Seminoles on the road Oct. 4. Those teams could potentially meet again in the ACC championship game.
Ohio State and Texas Tech have much in common in terms of spending big bucks in the transfer portal, and Oregon and LSU would be a matchup of two of the best quarterbacks in the FBS: Garrett Nussmeier and Dante Moore.
Georgia and Penn State have played just once in the past 43 years. The Bulldogs defeated the Nittany Lions 24-17 in the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl.
CFP semifinals, national championship game
Thursday, Jan. 8
CFP semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
7:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 5 LSU vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 2 Miami
Friday, Jan. 9
CFP semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
7:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 2 Oregon
Schlabach: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Monday, Jan. 19
CFP National Championship
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)
7:45 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 2 Miami vs. No. 1 Ohio State
National championship breakdown
Bonagura: Ohio State is still the favorite on paper, but it has an interesting test Saturday against Washington at Seattle, which can be a tough place to play. And Husky Stadium will surely be electric for this one. The more important game this week is Oregon at Penn State, where the winner will be well on its way to the Big Ten title game.
Schlabach: I had all but one of my top four seeds advancing to the semifinals. A Georgia-Miami matchup in the Fiesta Bowl would be good drama, as Kyle noted in his quarterfinals breakdown.
Oregon and Ohio State won’t play each other in the regular season, but they could certainly meet in the Big Ten championship game. They played twice last season, with the Ducks winning 32-31 at home during the regular season and the Buckeyes flipping the script with a 41-21 victory in a CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl.
Complete bowl season schedule
Saturday, Dec. 13
Cricket Celebration Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Noon, ABC
Bonagura: Alabama State vs. South Carolina State
Schlabach: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State
LA Bowl
SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Cal vs. UNLV
Schlabach: Washington vs. UNLV
Tuesday, Dec. 16
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl
Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: South Alabama vs. Miami (Ohio)
Schlabach: Western Kentucky vs. Georgia Southern
Wednesday, Dec. 17
StaffDNA Cure Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
5 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Buffalo vs. Cincinnati
Schlabach: Northern Illinois vs. Troy
68 Ventures Bowl
Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama)
8:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee
Schlabach: Old Dominion vs. Central Michigan
Friday, Dec. 19
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina)
Noon, ESPN
Bonagura: East Carolina vs. Marshall
Schlabach: East Carolina vs. James Madison
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
3:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Mississippi State vs. NC State
Schlabach: South Carolina vs. Virginia
Monday, Dec. 22
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Ohio vs. Fresno State
Schlabach: Ohio vs. Utah State
Tuesday, Dec. 23
Boca Raton Bowl
Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: UConn vs. Northern Illinois
Schlabach: Boise State vs. Toledo
New Orleans Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: James Madison vs. Jacksonville State
Schlabach: Coastal Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl
Ford Center at The Star (Frisco, Texas)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: North Texas vs. Texas State
Schlabach: North Texas vs. New Mexico State
Wednesday, Dec. 24
Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Boise State vs. Arizona
Schlabach: Hawai’i vs. Tulane
Friday, Dec. 26
GameAbove Sports Bowl
Ford Field (Detroit)
1 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Rutgers vs. Toledo
Schlabach: Rutgers vs. Buffalo
Rate Bowl
Chase Field (Phoenix)
4:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Houston vs. Maryland
Schlabach: Baylor vs. Michigan State
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Army vs. Appalachian State
Schlabach: UCF vs. San Diego State
Saturday, Dec. 27
Go Bowling Military Bowl
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Maryland)
11 a.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Pitt vs. Memphis
Schlabach: SMU vs. Navy
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York)
Noon, ABC
Bonagura: Duke vs. Iowa
Schlabach: Clemson vs. Maryland
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Fenway Park (Boston)
2:15 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Clemson vs. Tulane
Schlabach: NC State vs. Memphis
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
3:30 p.m., ABC
Bonagura: Georgia Tech vs. TCU
Schlabach: Georgia Tech vs. Utah
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona)
4:30 p.m., CW Network
Bonagura: Bowling Green vs. New Mexico
Schlabach: Bowling Green vs. Fresno State
Isleta New Mexico Bowl
University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
5:45 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Utah State vs. Western Kentucky
Schlabach: Wyoming vs. Texas State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida)
7:30 p.m. ABC
Bonagura: Louisville vs. Alabama
Schlabach: Syracuse vs. Alabama
Kinder’s Texas Bowl
NRG Stadium (Houston)
9:15 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Iowa State vs. Texas A&M
Schlabach: TCU vs. Ole Miss
Monday, Dec. 29
JLab Birmingham Bowl
Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: South Carolina vs. Old Dominion
Schlabach: Mississippi State vs. Pittsburgh
Tuesday, Dec. 30
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Baylor vs. Louisiana Tech
Schlabach: Houston vs. Jacksonville State
Music City Bowl
Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee)
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Minnesota vs. Auburn
Schlabach: Illinois vs. Auburn
Valero Alamo Bowl
Alamodome (San Antonio)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: BYU vs. USC
Schlabach: Iowa State vs. USC
Wednesday, Dec. 31
ReliaQuest Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
Noon, ESPN
Bonagura: Illinois vs. Tennessee
Schlabach: Iowa vs. Tennessee
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas)
2 p.m., CBS
Bonagura: SMU vs. Arizona State
Schlabach: Notre Dame vs. Arizona
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
3 p.m., ABC
Bonagura: Michigan vs. Ole Miss
Schlabach: Michigan vs. Texas
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
3:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Nebraska vs. Utah
Schlabach: Nebraska vs. Cal
Friday, Jan. 2
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas)
1 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Kansas vs. Navy
Schlabach: Kansas vs. Rice
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee)
4:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: UCF vs. Missouri
Schlabach: BYU vs. Missouri
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Syracuse vs. Vanderbilt
Schlabach: Duke vs. Vanderbilt
Holiday Bowl
Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego)
8 p.m., Fox
Bonagura: Notre Dame vs. Washington
Schlabach: Louisville vs. Arizona State
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Adam Rittenberg
UCF assistant coach Shawn Clark, who was the head coach at Appalachian State for five seasons, died Sunday at 50.
Clark had been hospitalized after experiencing a medical emergency Sept. 9. UCF coach Scott Frost said last week that Clark was “doing OK, he’s in stable condition,” and others close to him said he was making progress in his recovery. But he died “unexpectedly” Sunday, UCF announced, with his wife Jonelle at his side.
“Shawn was so much more than a coach. He was a remarkable man, husband, and father who cared deeply about his players and staff,” Frost said in a statement. “The reaction of our players and coaches to the news this morning is a testament to Shawn’s character and the impact he had on every life that he touched. He was loved. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Jonelle, and children, Giana and Braxton. We are here to support them and will continue to keep them in our hearts and prayers.”
Clark was in his first year with UCF as offensive line coach after going 40-24 at Appalachian State. A former Appalachian State offensive lineman, Clark returned to his alma mater as offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2016, before taking over the program following the 2019 season.
“We are profoundly saddened by the passing of App State alumnus, football All-American and former head coach Shawn Clark. We extend our deepest sympathy to Shawn’s family and everyone who knew and loved him,” the school said in a statement.
Before returning to Appalachian State, Clark made stops at Kent State, Purdue and Eastern Kentucky.
“We are heartbroken by Shawn’s passing,” UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir said in a statement. “He brought passion, integrity, and a genuine love for people to everything he did.”
Clark is survived by Jonelle, a Hall of Fame softball player at Eastern Kentucky, and their two children.
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Andrea Adelson
The ACC fined Syracuse $25,000 and publicly reprimanded the school Monday for faking injuries in a 34-21 win over Clemson last weekend, calling its actions “unethical and contrary to the spirit of the rules.”
In a statement, the ACC said Syracuse violated a NCAA rule established this year aimed at stopping teams from faking injuries to slow down play.
With 9:25 left in the fourth quarter, the ACC said the action of two players and a coach “were a clear attempt to gain an unmerited advantage by stopping the game in order to secure an injury timeout.”
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik accused Syracuse of faking injuries after the loss as a way to slow down its tempo.
“We were playing with tempo and props to them, they stopped us on some third downs and then they have an injury or something like that when we really got going,” Klubnik said. “That’s up to them if they want to be honest about that.
“That was definitely tough for us to really get in a rhythm. We’re playing fast and unfortunately they had a guy get hurt or a timeout or something like that.”
Syracuse defensive linemen Nissi Ogbebor and Kevin Jobity Jr. are both seen falling to the ground after a 23-yard completion from Klubnik to Tristan Smith for a first down to the Orange 9-yard line. The game was stopped so trainers could attend to them, as the Clemson crowd booed.
The ACC office and the National Coordinator of Football Officials reviewed the play. According to the ACC, the national coordinator “agreed that the action violated the spirit of the injury timeout and fair play and was done in a way to circumvent the new injury timeout rule to avoid the team being charged a timeout.”
Under the new NCAA rule, a team is charged a timeout if a player goes to the ground injured after the ball is spotted. But in this case, both players went down before the ball was spotted, so Syracuse was not charged a timeout.
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