Clemson Tigers QB Cade Klubnik Looking to Rally Following Slow Start

It’s all about adjusting in college football, and that’s what Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik will look to do as the team goes through ACC play.

Clemson began on the wrong foot to begin its in-conference series, losing to Georgia Tech 24-21 in Atlanta, Georgia, last weekend. However, there was both good and bad from the team’s loss.

Klubnik enjoyed the scattered success that the offense had on scoring drives, especially with extending possessions.

“I feel like we got in a really good flow throughout the game,” he said on Wednesday. “It was really good to see, you know, kind of something that we've been talking about. So, I was really good to see, you know, just put a 17-play drive together, 14-play drive together. It was really fun to just kind of see the offense really going to work. Really, probably the offensive line, they dominated for the whole game, and just played really well together.”

The Tigers were also down double-digits once again in a contest, losing by as much as 13 points before a strong showing in the middle two quarters put the team back on top.

However, with the game behind Clemson now, it’s all about responding, which Klubnik is doing by being “a light in this building.”

“That's not an easy thing to do,” Klubnik said, “but I feel like we've responded really well and really just brought a lot of energy and just trying to bring some joy every day. That's kind of what we're trying to do.”

It was the little things that hurt the team, similar to the team’s loss against LSU in the opening week of the season. At times, the team saw one player who wasn’t doing their job, as well as turnovers killed Clemson’s momentum, both to open each half.

Klubnik takes the blame for both, a fumble in the first quarter and an interception in the third, seeing how close the Tigers were to putting the game away.

“The two turnovers that I had really hurt us and just a couple of third down, either miscommunication or just didn't make a play, or something like that,” he said. “That definitely hurt us in the third quarter, when I felt like we really could have put it away. So that was tough, especially just watching on film and realizing, but we will keep battling.”

The last time that the Tigers lost their ACC opener, it was against Duke in 2023. While the team struggled with a slow start, that saw the team go to 4-4 on the season, Clemson went on a five-game winning streak to end the season on a high.

Everything remains on the table for Klubnik and the team, including an ACC Championship appearance if they play their cards right. However, the margin for error is a lot slimmer than it was last week.

Klubnik says that this team is better than the 2023 squad, looking to bounce back quicker than the team two years ago.

“We want to respond faster, that's for sure,” the quarterback said.”So. I mean, a little bit of that, but this is not the same team, that's for sure. This is a much better team than we were in ‘23, and we've got two losses, and both of them have come down the very last play of the game, and we're right there. We just have to put it all together and keep striving.”

The Tigers have shown the quality on the offensive side of the ball, especially last season, scoring 36.4 points a game that secured a College Football Playoff appearance. This season, Clemson can only mount 21.3 points on average across three seasons.

It’s a long season, however, and Klubnik knows that. The untapped potential remains, but it will require fine-tuning the little details, which has been a major point of emphasis throughout this week.

“That's the things that matter, and that's the things that you know will cost you or will win a game,” the senior said. “So, just get back to the basics, almost, and just get back to the little details is what we need. Just like in this last game, if we had two or three plays back from the last game, that’s just fundamental stuff that’s nothing special, nothing crazy, that we do well, I think we win the game.”

Klubnik and the team will be back in action against Syracuse on Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon.