College football, meet Cade Klubnik.
Clemson’s true freshman quarterback has authored his first signature moment in leading the No. 5 Tigers to a thrilling, come-from-behind 27-21 win over No. 14 Syracuse on Saturday.
Klubnik, a five-star recruit in the 2022 class from Texas, entered the game for starter DJ Uiagalelei in the third quarter and led back-to-back touchdown drives to rally Clemson from a 21-10 deficit, keep the Tigers undefeated and preserve their now-historic home winning streak.
Coach Dabo Swinney said in his postgame interview with ABC, though, that Uiagalelei will remain Clemson’s starter going forward.
“Your best player sometimes can have a bad day,” Swinney said. “He 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 is our guy. Now, he’s got to play better, and he will, but how about Cade Klubnik coming in there and leading these guys.”
With Klubnik in the game, backup running back Phil Mafah scored on a fourth-and-goal play from the one-yard line to cut Clemson’s deficit to 21-16, then starting running back Will Shipley ran in a 50-yard, go-ahead touchdown on the team’s following fourth-quarter possession.
A scrambling Klubnik hit wide receiver Joseph Ngata streaking across the back middle of the end zone on the ensuing two-point conversion to put Clemson up 24-21 with 11:26 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After kicker B.T. Potter booted a 44-yard field goal with 1:33 remaining, Syracuse drove down to Clemson’s 30-yard line with no timeouts remaining before safety R.J. Mickens picked off Orange quarterback Garrett Shrader with 15 seconds left to end the game.
Clemson (8-0, 6-0 ACC) sent Uiagalelei back out for the game-ending quarterback kneel-down.
Before that interception, the Tigers’ defense also provided a huge boost by forcing six consecutive Syracuse second-half punts amid the offense’s 17 straight unanswered fourth-quarter points.
Coach Dabo Swinney’s Tigers set a new ACC record with a 38th consecutive home win at Memorial Stadium. Clemson had been tied with 1992-2001 Florida State at 37 straight wins before Saturday’s victory.
With the win, Clemson also remains atop the Atlantic Division with two conference games left and can clinch the division’s spot in the ACC championship game with a win against Louisville on Nov. 12.
Shipley (172 yards, two TDs) and Mafah (94 yards, one TD) paced a dominant Clemson rushing attack that racked up 293 total rushing yards on 60 attempts against a Syracuse defense allowing just 95 per game on the ground entering Saturday.
Klubnik completed just two of four pass attempts for 19 yards and rushed six times for 15 yards after replacing Uiagalelei, who entered the game with the seventh best odds nationally to win the Heisman but had a season-worst three turnovers (two interceptions, one fumble) against Syracuse.
But he supplied a key two-point conversion and a burst of energy on an afternoon when Clemson desperately needed it. It’s a performance that’ll certainly prompt some quarterback-related questions heading into the Tigers’ upcoming open week and Nov. 5 road game at Notre Dame.
Syracuse led 21-10 in the first half behind excellent performances from Shrader (238 total yards) and running back Sean Tucker as well as a 90-yard fumble recovery touchdown.
But the Orange (6-1, 3-1 ACC) fell flat in the second half after their first 6-0 start since 1987. They’ve now lost nine of 10 games against Clemson since joining the ACC in 2013.
