Clemson 37, Syracuse 27: Five things we learned

Clemson is going to live and die with Deshaun Watson, and the Tigers are just fine with that. Watson finished Saturday's win 34 of 47 for 360 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. He added 105 yards on 14 carries.

Watson did throw that one pick, but took care of himself and the ball in the second half. Clemson gained 570 yards of total offense on the day.

Entering the day, Watson had thrown for 2,233 yards, 21 touchdowns and one pick while completing 70 percent of his passes. He'd run for 493 yards and four scores on 94 carries, too, and should be among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy at this point.

MORE: Clemson leans on Watson with game on line

If Clemson has a weakness, it's big-play prevention on the ground. Syracuse and its run-heavy attack torched the Tigers from start to finish, ending with 242 yards on 34 carries and three touchdowns.

Quarterback Zack Mahoney, a former walk-on who started the season as the backup, didn't do much through the air, but did well to guide the dominant rushing attack. He ran for 76 yards on 10 carries and RB Greg Morris gained 80 on 14. 

PETRELLA: Is big-play prevention problem for Clemson?

But it was how it happened that's concerning — Syracuse got 151 of those yards on just four plays of at least 28 yards, each by a different Syracuse runner. Last week, Dalvin Cook had 194 yards, but 111 came on his first two carries.

Clemson's defense ranked 81st in the country in Football Study Hall's explosiveness-prevention rating, well behind the rest of its defensive metrics, and didn't do much to help that on Saturday.

Clemson's had weapons at the skill positions for much of the last decade, and still has a few good ones on the roster. A few.

Watson completed passes to eight different players in the win. Last week against Florida State, he hit six, and they each had at least three catches.

Artavis Scott led the way with 12 catches for 73 yards. Charone Peake, a fifth year senior who made two huge plays in the fourth quarter last week, had seven catches for 120 yards and a score.

Clemson looked excellent in the second half last week, but after the first two minutes of the game on Saturday, its offense slowed down. 

The Tigers didn't score a touchdown in the second half — punt, field goal, interception, field goal, end of game were their drives. They gained plenty of yards (253), but couldn't convert in the red zone. 

Clemson had scored on 91.67 percent of its drives in the red zone entering Saturday, 11th best in FBS.

Clemson finishes the season with Wake Forest and South Carolina, then will play North Carolina (in all likelihood) in the ACC Championship Game.

The Tigers will be favored in all three, but with that No. 1 tag on their backs, they'll get everyone's best shot. South Carolina won't lay down at home and give up the state title, and North Carolina certainly looks like it can hang — especially if big plays are such a problem for Clemson's defense.