No. 5 Clemson survives No. 14 Syracuse on Saturday thanks to a backup quarterback, but coach Dabo Swinney made it clear as fans rushed the fie;d who his guy is.

Freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik rallied No. 5 Clemson to two fourth-quarter touchdowns after replacing mistake-prone starter DJ Uiagalelei and the Tigers won their ACC-record setting 38th straight game at home, 27-21, over No. 14 Syracuse on Saturday.

Will Shipley ran for two touchdowns and a career-high 172 yards as the Tigers (8-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their 14th straight overall — but not without a big-time scare from the Orange (6-1, 3-1).

Uiagalelei was picked off twice and had a fumble Ja’Had Carter returned 90 yards for a touchdown as Clemson trailed 21-10 at the half.

Swinney made it clear after the game, though, who his quarterback is.

“Sometimes Steph Curry goes 2-for-25,” Swinney said right after the game. “Your best play sometimes can have a bad day. He just got out of rhythm, made some bad plays, and we just needed a change/ We showed we’ve got that guy that can come in. DJ’s our quarterback, there ain’t no question about that, that’s our guy, that’s our leader, you can write that right now, DJ’s our guy. Now he’s got to play better and he will. But how about Cade Klubnik coming in there and leading these guys?”

The Tigers caught fire with the five-star Klubnik behind center. He led a 15-play, 80-yard series that ended with Phil Mafah’s 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal to cut the deficit to 21-16.

After a Syracuse punt, the Tigers and Klubnik got going again. He started with an 11-yard run before Shipley burst through the line for the go-ahead, 50-yard touchdown run for a 22-21 lead. Clemson went for two and Klubnik escaped one tackler in the backfield before finding Joseph Ngata for the final points.

Klubnick pumped his fist and the once-subdued Death Valley crowd broke into hysterics.

Clemson held Syracuse to 119 yards with no points the final two quarters. Shrader took Syracuse to the Clemson 30 with 32 seconds left but was picked off by safety R.J. Mickens on his final throw.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.