Turning point? Clemson football snaps funk with dominant win over UNC
There’s a “get right game.” And then there’s that.
Clemson football took out two weeks of frustration against UNC on Saturday, embarrassing the Tar Heels 38-10 at Kenan Stadium and injecting a little life into their disappointing 2025 season with their highest-scoring game of the year.
Clemson (2-3, 1-2 ACC) still has a long way to go after spoiling a preseason No. 4 ranking and getting off to the worst start of the Dabo Swinney era. And the Bill Belichick North Carolina team the Tigers routed by 28 points in Chapel Hill looks like one of the worst teams in the entire FBS.
But it was hard to watch the Tigers fly across the field Saturday and not see what they flashed against UNC — explosive plays, good decisions from quarterback Cade Klubnik, toughness and tackling — carrying over against tougher opponents.
Two weeks after getting outworked at home by Syracuse, Clemson scored a touchdown on its first offensive play of the game, scored 28 points in the first quarter, had 367 yards of total offense at halftime and never trailed in a thorough dismantling of UNC (2-3, 0-1 ACC) in a “backs against the wall” opportunity.
“I never thought I’d be happy to leave anywhere 2-3, but I’m happy today,” Swinney said postgame. “To see a group of guys fight and pick themselves up and go play a great game was fun. It’s one game, but hopefully we can build some confidence, build some momentum and build some morale.”
Game recap
Clemson wasted no time beating up on UNC. Literally.
On the team’s first offensive snap of the game, wide receiver Antonio Williams caught a swing pass, hesitated behind the line of scrimmage and then hit fellow receiver T.J. Moore for a 75-yard touchdown pass. After 11 seconds, it was 7-0.
UNC and Belichick made a quarterback change with regular starting QB Gio Lopez injured, going with LSU/Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson against Clemson. And Johnson showed some spunk, leading UNC to an opening-drive field goal.
The Tar Heels were never close again. Klubnik and Clemson ripped off three rapid-fire touchdown drives, mixing in creative play calls from offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and displaying some serious explosiveness.
Klubnik threw a 35-yard touchdown to tailback Adam Randall (14-3), a 45-yard touchdown to tight end Christian Bentancur (21-3) and a 23-yard touchdown to Randall (28-3) before the first quarter ended. UNC couldn’t stop a thing.
It was the Tigers’ first 28-point quarter since the Wake Forest game in October 2024 and first 28-point first quarter since N.C. State in September 2024. Clemson’s 28 points in the first 15 minutes were also a season high … for an entire game.
“You saw us make plays today that we just hadn’t been,” Swinney said. “Some of those contested catches, we hadn’t been making them. Some of those critical plays, a couple fourth downs. … Cade, I mean, he woke up today and remembered, ‘Oh, I’m Cade Klubnik.’ And so that was nice. He was amazing.”
With the defense forcing three-and-outs and Klubnik playing with precision, Clemson finally pieced together the sort of complementary football it struggled to produce against LSU, Troy, Georgia Tech or Syracuse.
Klubnik threw another touchdown pass to Bentancur in the second quarter (35-3) and finished the first half 21-23 for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Crucially, he also had zero turnovers after racking up five in Clemson’s first four games.
The Tigers out-gained UNC 367-78 (+289) in the first half and averaged 10.2 yards per play, prompting the majority of North Carolina fans and students to leave the game early. The stadium was no more than 33% full in the second half.
In a mostly forgettable second half, Clemson mixed in a lot of reserves and got an extended look at backup quarterback Christopher Vizzina, who’ll compete to be the starting quarterback in 2026 after Klubnik (a senior) departs.
Klubnik only played one second-half offensive series (a punt) before Swinney pulled the plug. The Tigers didn’t score in the third quarter but added a short fourth-quarter field goal (38-3) after Vizzina got them into the red zone.
UNC didn’t score its first touchdown until the 10:25 mark of the fourth quarter, and that rushing touchdown came against a mix of Clemson second- and third-string defensive players.
It was a mess of a game for UNC, which fell to 0-3 against P4 opponents this season and has scored 14, 9 and 10 points in those games vs. TCU, UCF and Clemson.
“We’ve just got to do a better job of coaching, a better job playing and eliminate the mistakes that are fixable,” said Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl champion coach with the New England Patriots.
Clemson went over 400 offensive yards in back-to-back games for the first time this season and avoided starting 1-4 for the first time since 2004. It was also the Tigers’ seventh straight win against UNC dating back to 2011.
And a little momentum, in a season where Clemson’s had almost none.
“I think if you’d have come to practice this week and watched us, you’d have no idea what our record was,” Klubnik said. “Just guys going to work. That’s the leadership of this team, and it’s really, really special. … This team’s going to keep fighting. We’re not going anywhere.”
Next Clemson game
Who: Clemson (2-3, 1-2 ACC) at Boston College (1-4, 0-3 ACC)
When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11
Where: Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
TV: ACC Network
This story was originally published October 4, 2025 at 3:36 PM.
