Heading into Clemson's Week 10 game at Syracuse, Dabo Swinney's team will be down two more players on offense, including another key starter. Wide receivers Tyler Brown and Gordon Sellars III have been ruled out for the contest by way of Friday night's ACC availability report. While Sellars has played sparingly this year, Brown is a huge part of the passing game. Look for Juju Preston to step up.
With Brown now being listed as out, this brings Clemson to four key starters on offense not being available for Saturday afternoon's kick at Syracuse. The three players who were ruled out earlier are Gideon Davidson, Harris Sewell, and Elyjah Thurmon. This means Clemson will be without two key starters along the offensive line and two high-volume weapons for Tait Reynolds to use on Saturday.
While this does put even more pressure on Dabo Swinney's team to win, it will also be a tremendous opportunity for reserve players like Preston, Jarvis Green, Chris Johnson Jr., Gavin Blanchard, and Grant Wise to take advantage of the situation. Syracuse has played better football in recent weeks, but this is the same Orange team that started the season out in an 0-4 hole during conference play.
With Brown out, Clemson will be down four regular offensive starters. Next up at slot WR is Juju Preston https://t.co/zBVBpZ1XBu
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) November 7, 2026
Tait Reynolds will have to spread the ball around more efficiently now
This all goes back to one thing above all else. Reynolds will have to take his game up a notch to help counterbalance all the injuries around him on the offensive side of the ball. These next two games could play a big part in whether he is a lock to be QB1 next year. Dabo Swinney may already feel that in his bones, but it will be hard to trot out there a quarterback who struggles against lesser ACC foes.
While Clemson did lose to Syracuse and Georgia Tech last year, as well as Duke, whom the Tigers still have to play here in a few weeks, the team does seem to be playing with a lot more confidence of late. The key cog in all of this is clearly Reynolds. As he goes, the floor for this offense elevates. That being said, Clemson will still be without its most important player on offense for this ACC game in Davidson.
At this time, look for Reynolds to put his trust and faith in Preston, TJ Moore, and Bryant Wesco Jr. in this Clemson receiving corps. Preston should be getting more targets in Week 10, as should tight end Christian Bentancur. As for the running back room, Green will get the lion's share of the touches filling in for Davidson, while Johnson will have to step up even more as Clemson's change-of-pace back.
Overall, Clemson is fortunate to be playing a team like Syracuse that it can still beat on the road without having a few of its best offensive players available. After all, this is a team led by its great defense and special teams. As long as the Tigers keep playing well on third and fourth down on defense, they will have an excellent shot at improving to 6-3 on the season to achieve bowl eligibility.
We can only hope that Swinney and Chad Morris have a great game plan to help offset these injuries.
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