ACC Fines Syracuse $25,000 for Faking Injuries Against Clemson

The ACC announced Monday it issued a $25,000 fine to Syracuse for an incident during the fourth quarter of its 34-21 win against Clemson on Sept. 20.

The conference wrote in a brief statement the actions violated an NCAA bylaw that “addresses the feigning of injuries by players.” 

Conferences frequently issue monetary fines to programs for violating league or NCAA bylaws during games. However, these fines are most commonly issued to teams for allowing fans to storm the field, rather than major in-game antics.

The ACC cited one instance in which two players faked injuries in order to force an injury timeout with 9:25 left in the game. It also cited the actions of coach Fran Brown. 

At the moment in question, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnick had just completed a pass to wide receiver Tristan Smith. Two Syracuse players, Nissi Ogbebor and Kevin Jobity, were seen sitting down, according to Syracuse.com. 

The ACC had Steve Shaw, the national coordinator of football officials, review the play. He agreed with the ACC’s assessment.

“The actions by the 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 ACC said.

After the game Saturday, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnick suggested he was aware of the incidents in real time. “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.” The Tigers are 1-3 this season.

Klubnick implied Syracuse players faked injuries multiple times throughout the game. However, the ACC said it was issuing a fine for one particular instance. 

The $25,000 fine will go toward the league’s Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship account, the ACC said.

In a statement Monday, Syracuse said it “acknowledges and accepts the reprimand and fine issued by the Atlantic Coast Conference.” Syracuse is now 3-1.