Syracuse's Garrett Shrader: "Everybody knows that we should've won that game"

KJ Henry came free for a big sack on Syracuse QB Garrett Shrader late.

Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Sunday, October 23 2022

CLEMSON – Anger. Hurt. Despondent.

Several Syracuse football players came out of the visitor's locker room a few minutes after suffering a 27-21 heartbreaking loss to Clemson Saturday afternoon. They all had the same expression as they sat in the white metal chairs and gazed back toward the Memorial Stadium scoreboard.

They looked like they knew that the opportunity of a lifetime – or at least their college careers – just slipped through their fingers.

Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader didn't mince words when he said his team should have won the game.

"Shoutout to Coach (Dabo) Swinney and the program he's built here," Shrader said after the game. "They've done a lot of great things and have a lot of great players, but we came up short. Coming into it, we knew we had it and should've had it. It's a testament to them to have four turnovers and still win the game. That's a pretty good football team."

Shrader then said with the way his defense played, those who watched the game know who should have won the game.

"It's just us. Everybody knows that we should've won that game today the way our defense played," Shrader said. “Hats off to the young kid (Cade Klubnik) that came in and gave them a little spark and got them going. They're a great football team. I think they're going to keep winning and win out. We'll take this as a learning opportunity. It was awesome, but I hate the way it finished up. I can't wait to get back out there next week."

Playing in Death Valley is difficult, but Shrader said he's proud of how he and his teammates performed.

"It was an awesome environment. At Clemson, y'all get after it," he said. "I've been to a lot of games here when I was younger, so I know how it gets. It was an awesome opportunity. I'm proud of the way we fought, but we've got to be better."

Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said there are no moral victories for his team, despite how they played for three quarters.

"We are excited about the way we played. We do not take moral victories," Babers said. "We felt like the guys played good enough that we had an opportunity to win, but you can't take it away from how difficult it is to play here in Death Valley. Coach Swinney and the guys did a helluva job coming back and running us down in the fourth quarter. It's a heck of a football team. We wish those guys the best. They're the flagship of the ACC. Our guys are hurting inside that room, and we will come back and try to represent this conference the right way for the rest of the season."

Babers said that his team is hurting, not only emotionally but also physically. However, his message is that they need to do whatever it takes to get back in the win column against Notre Dame next week.

"There are a lot of guys banged up. I don't want to mention that," Babers said. "When we play Clemson, the way we play Clemson, we traditionally have a lot of guys banged up.

"My message is we're getting ready for Notre Dame, and it's Notre Dame. Just like Clemson is Clemson. We've got an opportunity to get back on the right track and be 1-0 again. We started this journey in August, and every week we want to be 1-0. I don't know the date, but I know we're in the middle of October, and it's the first time we've tasted defeat. I want the taste out of my mouth, and I want to be back on the right side of it."

While penalties and officiating will be a big talking point this week, Babers said the game shouldn't have come down to that.

"It's not about contesting. The officials call what they call," Baber said. "We had enough opportunities in that game that we can't just talk about penalties. In the first half, we hardly had any penalties. The way they come, the way they call them, we're going to play them."

Shrader said the second-half penalties killed drives and swung momentum in the Tigers' favor.

"We knew coming in they had a stout defense. That defensive line is solid and sets the tone for the rest of the defense," Shrader said. "There were little things - penalties and holding; whenever we had explosive plays, they get brought back. Those little things stunt you and take away momentum and give it to them."

When asked about the late hit that wasn't called on Clemson, Shrader said he felt like his hit was worse than the hit Klubnik took a drive earlier.

"I'm not going to say much on that. I feel like after watching it, mine felt worse, but it doesn't matter. It's part of the game," Shrader said.