CLEMSON, S.C. _ Clemson's offense struggled for most of Saturday's game against Syracuse, particularly after starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence went down with an injury late in the first half.
But when the Tigers took over at their own 6-yard line with 6:06 remaining, backup quarterback Chase Brice and the rest of the offense delivered.
Brice led Clemson (5-0, 2-0) on a 13-play, 94-yard touchdown drive that took 5:25 off the clock, culminating with a 2-yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne, as Clemson rallied for a 27-23 victory against Syracuse (4-1, 1-1).
Clemson did most of its damage on the ground on the final drive as Brice only attempted one pass, but it was a big one.
With Clemson facing a fourth-and-6 from its own 48 and only 2:50 remaining on the clock Brice threw a strike to Tee Higgins for a 20-yard gain.
The redshirt freshman quarterback then rushed for 17 yards on the next play, carrying a couple of Orange defenders with him.
From there, the running game took over. The Tigers ran the ball four consecutive plays with backup running back Tavien Feaster gaining 11 yards and Etienne later finishing off the drive with the touchdown.
For much of the game it appeared as though the Tigers were going to suffer a second consecutive stunning loss to Syracuse.
Lawrence, who was named the starter on Monday before senior quarterback Kelly Bryant announced he was transferring Wednesday, took a hard hit to the shoulder/head area late in the second quarter and did not return.
Clemson trailed Syracuse 13-7 when Lawrence went down and was down 16-7 at the break before a back-and-forth second half took place.
The Tigers cut the lead to 16-13 entering the fourth quarter on a pair of Greg Huegel field goals before the Orange took a two-score lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Eric Dungey early in the fourth quarter.
Dungey's score gave Syracuse a 23-13 lead and came after Amari Rodgers fumbled a punt at the Clemson 10.
Clemson quickly answered as Brice hit Justyn Ross for two big gains and Etienne scored on a 26-yard touchdown run, bringing Clemson to within 23-20 and setting up the late heroics.
Etienne finished with 27 carries for a career high 203 yards and three touchdowns.
Lawrence was 10-for-15 passing for 93 yards before going out with the injury, while Brice was 7-for-13 for 83 yards and an interception.
Clemson's defense held Syracuse's explosive offense to 311 total yards to keep the Tigers in the game until the offense put together a couple of drives late.
