3 observations as Cade Klubnik shines, Clemson earns home win over Stanford

No. 17 Clemson continued to play like a team with a lot to play for this season, even if the third game since the Tigers’ season-opening loss to Georgia wasn’t as flawless.

Cade Klubnik threw four touchdowns and rushed for another against Stanford on Saturday in a 40-14 victory. The Tigers (3-1, 2-0 ACC) picked up their second consecutive conference win and, along with Miami, look like the class of the ACC heading to Florida State next weekend.

Saturday’s game was played a day after Hurricane Helene devastated the region and left hundreds of thousands in the Upstate without power. There were no damages at Memorial Stadium or traffic issues, and Stanford safely arrived for the game, despite the storm delaying its California departure by a day.

While the final score was convincing enough, the Tigers had some issues putting the Cardinal away as easily as they did App State and N.C. State, and it took until the second half to really put the game away.

“It was a gritty game,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “It wasn’t perfect. Honestly, it was good to have a little strain, a little tension, and have to overcome throughout the course of the game.”

Clemson led by 13 with Stanford driving deep into Tigers territory in the third quarter before a defense that had struggled to stop the run much of the night got two stops for a turnover over on downs.

Even though the Tigers weren’t able to do anything with on the next drive, they flipped the field. After Wade Woodaz picked off an Ashton Daniels pass, Klubnik heaved a 42-yard pass to Cole Turner in the end zone to give the Tigers a 27-7 lead.

After another Clemson defensive stop, Klubnik found Bryant Wesco Jr. for a 34-yard touchdown strike followed by a 2-yard TD pass to Olsen Patt-Henry in the fourth quarter.

Clemson is now 2-0 all time against the Cardinal.

Big-play Cade

Klubnik wasn’t quite as sharp against Stanford. The Clemson junior QB completed 48% of his passes and threw one interception. He had quite a few messier pockets and took several big shots as the offensive line struggled to block Stanford at times.

While there were multiple drops, the Austin, Texas native made some of the big plays he flashed in the previous two contests.

Klubnik threw for 255 yards and rushed for 48 more. He was on the passing or running end of six plays that went for 20 yards or more.

Early in the game, Klubnik scrambled out of the pocket on third-and-10 and ran for a 34-yard score to put Clemson up 7-0, making it the third consecutive game with an opening-possession touchdown.

Klubnik later found Jake Briningstool for an easy 3-yard touchdown connection that put Clemson up 17-0 before his second-half scoring explosion.

“Cade was just awesome,” Swinney said. “He’s making a lot of plays. He’s making a lot of plays with his legs. Proud of him.”

Freshmen get work

Swinney started the season answering questions on why his pair of five-star receivers didn’t see many snaps against Georgia.

That wasn’t an issue Saturday for Wesco and T.J. Moore. With Troy Stellato and Adam Randall out and Tyler Brown (ankle) limited coming off a missed game last week, Klubnik had to look the freshmen’s way.

Right off the bat he threw a deep ball in the end zone to Moore, who couldn’t come up with it as a defender was draped across his body. Moore had just one catch for 14 yards, but he drew two pass-interference penalties on Stanford and had a big grab on the sideline overturned.

Klubnik targeted Wesco seven times and Moore six, the most of any Clemson pass-catchers. Wesco hauled in two for 104 yards, including a 70-yard bomb.

Running on Clemson

Coming into Saturday, Clemson’s defense had not held an opponent to under 149 rushing yards this season, and that trend continued.

With starting defensive lineman Peter Woods out for the second consecutive game, the Tigers’ stop unit gave up 101 rushing yards in the first quarter alone and a season-high 236 in the game to the Cardinal. Clemson’s allowed at least 149 rushing yards in every game this season, and Stanford attacked the edges, where the Tigers struggled to contain.

The Cardinal gained at least 10 rushing yards to the right side five times in the game. Stanford continually kept Clemson’s defensive ends from getting off blocks and sealing the edge.

The pass defense, however, held Stanford to 125 passing yards on 27 attempts and racked up four sacks. Avieon Terrell, Jeadyn Lukus and Woodaz had an interception each, and the Tigers turned the Cardinal over on downs three times.

“As bad as we were in the first half we were equally as good in the second half,” Swinney said. “What we did do great all night was red-zone defense. The three turnovers were huge and then three turnovers on downs.”

Next Clemson football game

• Who: Clemson (3-1, 2-0 ACC) at Florida State (1-4, 1-3 ACC)
• When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5
• Where: Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla.
• TV: ESPN
• Line: Clemson by 14 points

This story was originally published September 28, 2024 at 10:47 PM.