ACC fines, reprimands Syracuse for feigning injuries in 34-21 upset win over Clemson

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Syracuse head coach Fran Brown heads off the field after defeating Clemson in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Syracuse head coach Fran Brown reacts in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Clemson Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman) — Syracuse head coach Fran Brown heads off the field after defeating Clemson in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

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9:49 AM on Monday, September 22

By STEVE REED

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference fined Syracuse $25,000 and issued a public reprimand for the Orange feigning injuries in Saturday's 34-21 win over conference opponent Clemson.

Play was stopped several times for injuries to Syracuse players during the game at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, which a frustrated Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik alluded to after the game.

The ACC pointed to one incident in particular with 9:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, saying the Orange violated NCAA Football Rule 3-3-6-b, which addresses the feigning of injuries by players, declaring it “unethical and contrary to the spirit of the rules.”

The ACC said the actions by two players, especially with the concurrent action by the coach in the team area, were a clear attempt to gain an unmerited advantage by stopping the game in order to secure an injury timeout.

The play also was reviewed by the national coordinator of football officials Steve Shaw, who agreed that the action violated the spirit of the injury timeout and fair play and was done in a way to circumvent the new injury timeout rule to avoid the team being charged a timeout.

After the game, Klubnik pointed out that Syracuse seemed to have a lot of injuries on defense after big plays by Clemson's up-tempo offense.

“They stopped us on third downs and then they would have an injury when we really got going,” Klubnik said. “That’s up to them if they want to be honest about that.”

Later, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was asked about Klubnik's comments and said: “I saw Cade get frustrated, but you can't get get frustrated with that. You just gotta play.”

Syracuse coach Fran Brown has not addressed the issue.

The funds from the imposed institutional fine — which are the maximum allowed by the league’s bylaws — will be placed into the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship account.

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