The ACC informed Syracuse head coach Fran Brown that officials made a mistake on a pivotal play in the Orange’s 18-13 loss to Clemson on November 7. Brown said the conference emailed him to acknowledge that Clemson’s only touchdown of the game should not have counted.
The disputed play came in the third quarter, when Clemson led 12-6. Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli attempted a pass while being hit by Clemson tackle Kourtney Kelly. The ball traveled backward, and officials ruled that it was a live fumble. Clemson’s Jahiem Lawson recovered it and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown, extending the Tigers’ lead to 18-6.
The officials reviewed the play but upheld the ruling on the field. Brown later said the ACC told him the call was incorrect and that the play should have been ruled an incomplete forward pass because a defender hit Angeli as he threw.
Under the NCAA rulebook, when a defender contacts a passer after the passer has begun a forward throwing motion and the ball leaves his hand, the play is treated as a forward pass, regardless of where the ball lands. If officials had ruled the play an incomplete pass, Syracuse would have kept possession while trailing by six points.
Clemson missed the ensuing two-point conversion, meaning the touchdown changed the margin by six points. The Orange ultimately lost by five. The Tigers’ defense provided the game’s only touchdown, while kicker Nolan Hauser accounted for the rest of Clemson’s scoring with four field goals.
Syracuse’s offense did not find the end zone until late in the fourth quarter. A 33-yard pass to Daunte Bacheyie cut Clemson’s lead to 18-13 with 3:12 remaining, but the Orange could not complete the comeback. Clemson’s Tate Reynolds helped secure the result with a third-and-8 run in the final minutes.
Brown described the ACC’s message during his Thursday-night radio show, saying, “It turned out [to] be a mistake and a sorry.” He had noted after the game that the play was ruled a backward pass but did not challenge the call publicly at the time. On the radio, he said the apology was the second he had received from the conference that season. The earlier apology concerned a Cal punt-return touchdown.
The loss was especially costly for Syracuse, which entered the game with a 4-5 overall record and a 2-5 mark in ACC play. The Orange had won two conference games in a row, including an upset of No. 19 SMU, and still had a bowl berth within reach. Brown had also taken responsibility for his own performance during the week, saying he did not coach his best game against Clemson.
The disputed touchdown was not the only challenge for Syracuse in the loss. Angeli completed 18 of 40 passes for 263 yards, threw two turnovers and was sacked three times. The Orange came away with just three points on three trips to the red zone. They also failed to capitalize on the end of the first half, running a play with two seconds remaining when no one was set.
Clemson did not need a particularly high-scoring offensive performance to hold on. Hauser made four field goals, and the defense kept Syracuse from scoring until the fourth quarter. The Tigers finished with an 18-13 victory, despite never scoring an offensive touchdown.
The result added to Syracuse’s difficult run in close games. The Orange had already lost three other games by one score during the season, making the six-point swing from the Clemson return particularly significant.
Syracuse’s next game is on the road against NC State, another team with a 4-5 record. The Orange need to win both of their remaining road games to become bowl-eligible before facing No. 5 Notre Dame, which entered the week at 8-1. Notre Dame is scheduled to close its regular season on November 28.
