Color This One Orange
Gator Bowl
Donovan McNabb never expected to start a football game for Syracuse this season, let alone star in the most lopsided bowl victory in school history.
McNabb, who won an intense three-way preseason battle to become Syracuse’s quarterback, threw three touchdown passes and ran for another Monday as the Orangemen pounded No. 23 Clemson 41-0 in the Gator Bowl.
“I was just trying to be chosen for the first game against North Carolina,” said McNabb, selected the game MVP. “I … tried to do what I was capable of doing.”
In handing the Tigers (8-4) their worst postseason loss, Syracuse ran its record to 6-0-1 in its last seven postseason games.
McNabb, constantly slipping defenders, waved receivers into position and completed 6 of 7 passes for 108 yards in a first quarter that produced a Gator record 20 Orangemen points.
Clemson, which entered the game as the nation’s fourth-best rushing team at 259 yards a game, had 90 yards against Syracuse.
Malcolm Thomas helped out with two TDs, including a 1-yard score on the game’s opening possession. Marvin Harrison had seven catches for 173 yards, including TD receptions of 38 and 56 yards.
But it was McNabb who made the difference before leaving one play into the fourth quarter after throwing for 309 yards, matching Marvin Graves’ record in the 1992 Hall of Fame Bowl. His three TD passes set a school bowl record, bettering the mark of two set by Graves in 1990 (Aloha Bowl) and 1992 (Hall of Fame Bowl).
The victory shocked both teams - Clemson couldn’t believe it was run over and Syracuse couldn’t believe it did the running.
“It came so easy to us, especially in the first quarter,” Syracuse guard Cy Ellsworth said. “It broke their spirits; you could see it in their eyes and, in my opinion, they gave up.”
Some people felt we were in this game by default,” Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni said. “We showed we were worthy of it.”
We thought we were prepared and focused, but they came out so quick,” Clemson safety Brian Dawkins said. “I think (McNabb’s) scrambling ability made our job harder.”
Two days of rain hurt the crowd. There were 22,738 no-shows in the announced crowd of 67,940.
Syracuse 41, Clemson 0
Syracuse 20 0 14 7 - 41
Clemson 0 0 0 0 - 0
Syr-Thomas 1 run (Mare kick)
Syr-McNabb 5 run (kick blocked)
Syr-Harrison 38 pass from McNabb (Mare kick)
Syr-Thomas 2 run (Mare kick)
Syr-Harrison 56 pass from McNabb (Mare kick)
Syr-Sinceno 15 pass from McNabb (Mare kick)
A-45,202.
Syr Cle First downs 21 12 Rushes-yards 50-158 34-90 Passing 309 69 Return Yards 24 4 Comp-Att-Int 13-23-1 11-24-2 Punts 4-44 6-50 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0 Penalties-Yards 7-65 1-16 Time of Possession 35:02 24:58
RUSHINGSyracuse, Thomas 14-71, Downing 6-37, Jones 10-25, Konrad 6-24, R.Johnson 1-6, McNabb 8-5, Morris 1-4, Sparks 2-2, Harrison 1-1, team 1-(minus 17). Clemson, Priester 15-36, Smith 6-30, Greene 8-16, Solomon 4-8, Downs 1-0.
PASSINGSyracuse, McNabb 13-23-1-309. Clemson, Greene 9-19-2-63, Solomon 2-4-0-6, Wyatt 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVINGSyracuse, Harrison 7-173, Wilson 2-70, Sinceno 2-47, Maddox 1-18, Williams 1-1. Clemson, Wyatt 3-21, Priester 2-16, Horne 1-15, Woods 1-11, Crooks 2-10, Smith 2-(minus 4).