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Blackmon: The ACC Championship version of Cade Klubnik gives Clemson hope in the Playoff
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CHARLOTTE — Mighty Clemson and little old SMU played an ACC Championship Game for the ages on Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium.
It wasn’t over until the last play, when Clemson’s freshman kicker, Nolan Hauser, playing just 30 minutes from his family’s Charlotte home, launched a record-breaking rocket of a kick 56 yards through the cold North Carolina night to send Clemson to the College Football Playoff
When it was over and Clemson had secured its 9th ACC Championship under Dabo Swinney, Clemson quarterback and championship MVP Cade Klubnik lingered for on the field for a few moments, waving at fans, shaking hands and soaking in the scene.
Who could blame him?
The version of Klubnik who showed up Saturday night was the guy Clemson believed they landed when big-armed Texan chose the Tigers as a heralded 5-star recruit in 2022.
Maybe the ACC Championship Game just brings the best out of Klubnik.
After all, it was on this same Bank of America Stadium field that Klubnik made his first start in this very game as a true freshman in 2022. Clemson won that game 39-10, with Klubnik capturing MVP honors for producing 309 total yards of offense and 2 touchdowns (1 passing, 1 rushing).
The numbers Saturday night weren’t quite as gaudy, but Klubnik was even better this time.
Klubnik started the game with his hair on fire, completing 5 of his first 6 passes for 3 touchdowns in staking Clemson to a 21-7 lead after the first quarter.
https://twitter.com/CFBKings/status/1865574495123107898
“It was the start we needed,” Clemson defensive end TJ Parker, who led the defense with 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack, said following the game. “We are a confident team. But when you see Cade playing like that, we know how tough we can be. It’s a big boost.”
Klubnik provided that boost playing a SMU defense with one of the most tenacious, productive front sevens in America. Klubnik was pressured 15 times and sacked 3, but consistently bought time with his legs, producing over 80% of the Clemson offense on a night when Clemson’s run game was nowhere to be found.
Klubnik fought through the pressure to pass for 262 yards and 4 touchdowns, making big-time throw after big-time throw.
Take the 32-yard strike he delivered to Antonio Williams on 3rd-and-9 in the 3rd quarter. The big play came just when SMU appeared to have seized momentum early in the second half. Instead of a punt deep in their own territory, Clemson stretched its lead to 31-14. SMU later tied the score at 31, but Clemson never trailed, thanks in part to more Klubnik magic.
No Klubnik throw was bigger than the 17-yard strike the junior delivered to Williams with just 10 seconds left in the game to set up the game-winning field goal.
“That’s the kind of player Cade is, and Clemson needs Cade to be,” Swinney said of the final drive on Saturday night. “I’ve said it before. He’s the same guy every day. He works every day. He was awesome tonight.”
Clemson’s win sends the Tigers to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2020, when Trevor Lawrence and Co. lost a semifinal to Ohio State.
Can Clemson make the most of its 7th College Football Playoff appearance?
An extended run might be an audacious ask for a Clemson program that has rarely looked the part of the world beaters that won 2 national championships and played for 2 others between 2015-2020.
Heightening the challenge is the fact the Tigers will likely play on the road in Round 1, despite earning the automatic berth as ACC champion. And despite Swinney’s lobbying for SMU following the game, the Tigers might be the ACC’s lone representative in the first 12-team Playoff field in college football history.
Much of how far Clemson will go depends on Klubnik.
There’s no question Clemson has elite talent, especially on defense, where Parker, fellow defensive lineman Peter Woods and Butkus Award Finalist linebacker Barrett Carter form one of the country’s most formidable fronts. The Tigers suffocated SMU for a half on Saturday, doing enough to give their offense a chance to win.
That’s the formula for advancing in the Playoff for Clemson.
Can Klubnik take advantage of the opportunities his defense will provide?
It’s hard to be too critical of a quarterback who threw for over 3,000 yards, rushed for 437 more and produced 36 touchdowns in a conference title winning campaign. But Klubnik will be the first to tell you he hasn’t performed up to his own standards in Clemson’s biggest games.
He struggled mightily against Georgia in the opener, a 34-3 Clemson loss, averaging just 4.9 yards per attempt and throwing an interception. He averaged a season low 4.07 yards per throw in a loss to Louisville, and threw a devastating interception with Clemson driving for a tying field-goal attempt against in-state rival South Carolina.
And it wasn’t just Clemson losses.
He was inaccurate and inefficient in a narrow win over Virginia Tech, connecting on just 5-of-16 throws that traveled more than 10 yards and taking 4 sacks despite solid protection. The game led to a sit down with Swinney, who called Klubnik’s play “frustrating.”
All of that frustration melted away Saturday night.
“There are plays I left out there this season, that’s for sure,” Klubnik said after the game. “I had to do better. As a team, we had to believe that our story wasn’t finished yet. It isn’t finished. Now we have a chance to go and prove that again in the Playoff.”
Klubnik left a couple of plays out there Saturday, too. A fumble, his 6th of the season, had Swinney hot despite Clemson recovering the ball.
Does Klubnik need to be perfect?
No.
But Clemson is a team that is self-aware. The Tigers and their head coach know their margin for error is small. They know to win Playoff games, it will take another gear.
Clemson showed flashes of that gear and greatness Saturday night.
The rest was largely on the shoulders of Cade Klubnik.
Against SMU, he was good enough to help Clemson weather their mistakes, which felt like more of the same.
More struggles defensively against mobile quarterbacks. More difficulty establishing the run game.
Clemson’s flaws are evident.
These Tigers might not change their stripes.
That’s fine.
This version of Clemson is good enough to be ACC champions yet again.
To win in the Playoff, the ACC champions will just need more of this version of Cade Klubnik.
Neil Blackmon covers Florida football and the SEC for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
