Cade Klubnik Seems to Accuse Syracuse of Faking Injuries After Clemson's Loss

"That's up to them if they wanna be honest about that."

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik seemed to insinuate that Syracuse was faking injuries when the Tigers' offense was playing well. / GREENVILLE NEWS-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Despite what quarterback Cade Klubnik believed was Clemson's best offensive performance of the season so far, the Tigers fell 34-21 to Syracuse on Saturday. Klubnik certainly played his best game statistically—completing 61.7% of his passes for 363 yards, three touchdowns and one pick—but his team was unable to keep up with Syracuse. The Orange got off to a hot start after scoring a touchdown on their opening drive followed by an immediate field goal off a surprise onside kick.

Klubnik in particular thought Clemson performed well offensively when they were playing with tempo, but seemed frustrated after the game that their momentum was stalled on those drives by Syracuse having a player injured or taking a timeout.

"We were doing it really all throughout the game. We were playing with tempo. Props to them, they stopped us on some third downs at certain times," Klubnik told reporters. "Then they'd have an injury or something like that when we really got going. That's up to them if they wanna be honest about that, but that was definitely tough for us to really get in a rhythm. We're playing fast then unfortunately they'd have a guy get hurt or a timeout or something like that. I feel like we came out really healthy and hopefully they did too."

Whoa. Talking about how Clemson played well in a tempo offense today, Clemson QB Cade Klubnik brings up — unprompted — that he felt like Syracuse seemed to have a guy getting injured after Clemson made a big play. “It’s up to them if they wanna be honest about that” pic.twitter.com/QANn10rBKt

— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) September 20, 2025

Klubnik also acknowledged, "I love playing with tempo and feel like we did it really well. ... Just got to continue to do that, find ways to overcome a delay, whatever it is."

While injuries and timeouts have the potential to stall a promising drive, they are simply part of the game at any level, and good teams can overcome them on most occasions. The Tigers got off to a slow start, while the Orange scored on each of their four possessions and racked up 24 points by early in the second quarter. If Clemson wants to improve their 1-3 record, they must play better going forward, not point fingers at timeouts and injuries.

The Tigers will go on bye and can rebound next when they face North Carolina on Oct. 4.

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