AUSTIN, Texas — It wasn’t the homecoming Clemson football quarterback Cade Klubnik envisioned.
The No. 5 seed Longhorns defeated the No. 12 seed Tigers 38-24 on Saturday at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas (12-2) will face No. 4 seed Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1 in the CFP quarterfinals. For Clemson (10-4), its improbable season came to an end after digging itself in an 21-point hole halfway into the third quarter.
Still, Klubnik, who is from Austin, gave Clemson a fighting chance. He engineered back-to-back touchdown drives in the second half to nearly mount the first upset victory in the expanded College Football Playoff and give Tigers fans optimism for next season.
“You saw the heart of our quarterback. How ’bout that guy?” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Just incredible.”
Klubnik completed 60% of his passes and threw for 336 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on Saturday. It was the most passing yards and touchdown passes Texas has allowed in a game all season.
Klubnik achieved this feat in a road playoff environment at the eighth-largest stadium in college football against the No. 2 scoring defense and the No. 3 total defense in FBS. He wasn’t supported by a true run game, either, with running back Phil Mafah injured and split snaps from a trio of inexperienced running backs. So much so that wide receiver Adam Randall led the team in rushing yards with 44 on Saturday with 41 of them coming on one carry.
Klubnik, who was sacked three times, led a four-play, 55-yard drive in the third quarter, connecting with tight end Jake Briningstool for 28 yards. Two plays later, he passed to running back Jarvis Green for a 25-yard touchdown, his first reception and score of his career, to cut Clemson’s deficit to 14.
Klubnik followed that possession with a 10-play, 62-yard touchdown drive to make it a one-score game. He led Clemson into the red zone in six plays, but the drive stalled after Texas blew up a designed run for him on third down.
On fourth-and-6, Klubnik snapped the ball in shotgun formation, drifted right as pressure came from the left, saw freshman wide receiver T.J. Moore open, set his feet and delivered a 7-yard touchdown pass as he took a hit. Klubnik picked himself up off the ground filled with excitement as Clemson inched closer to tying the game.
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“A credit to Clemson, credit to Cade,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I thought Cade had a nice ballgame for them. He’s a tough guy because there’s the timing throws and then there’s those off-schedule plays that he makes.”
Texas responded with a 77-yard rushing touchdown from running back Jaydon Blue to ice the game, but Saturday’s playoff game displayed the growth Klubnik has shown this season. Klubnik’s mobility, deep-ball accuracy and savvy as a second-year starter propelled Clemson to the CFP for the first time since 2020.
Klubnik recorded 308 completions this year, the third-most in a season in Clemson history, trailing only Deshaun Watson (388 in 2016; 333 in 2015). Klubnik finished 2024 with 36 touchdown passes, tying Tajh Boyd (2012) and Trevor Lawrence (2019) for the second-most touchdown throws in a season in program history.
“This kid absolutely played his (tail) off tonight and this season,” Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley said.
With Swinney’s star quarterback at the helm next season, Clemson can dream big. Swinney expects to have four of Clemson five starting offensive lineman and its starting three receivers (Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr., T.J. Moore) back with Klubnik leading the charge next season. Still, Klubnik, a junior, has not declared his intentions.
“Just trying to deal with the emotions of (Saturday) and just trying to deal with (that),” Klubnik said. “I’ve got to play my last football game with a lot of these guys. I’m not really thinking about me right now.”
If Klubnik decides to return for his final year, Clemson will be in good hands. This season, Clemson’s ceiling was to make the CFP. If an experienced Klubnik returns for his final year, Clemson will have a true shot to be national champions in 2025.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
