Moral victories from Saturday’s 38-24 College Football Playoff loss to Texas are not enough for any Clemson supporter. One positive aspect of Austin, though, was the outstanding performance of Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik. The hometown kid is now on the early list of 2025 Heisman Trophy favorites because of how well he performed against what most people believe to be the best defense in the country.
Klubnik was able to throw for 336 yards on 26 of 43 passing against a Texas defense that has only given up 156.9 yards via the air per game this season. Furthermore, he overthrew a defense that had only given up four passing scores all season to throw three touchdowns.
“Yeah, how many people get that many yards on that group?” After the game, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spoke about his quarterback. “They’re excellent. On fourth and one, we had several chances to punch it in, but we missed them. We didn’t finish it, but we believe we had it if we stayed outside and sort of cut in.”He is merely a rival. One of the men that stood up was the child, who remarked that playing football with our team this year has been the most enjoyable he has ever had. He’s never had so much fun. It’s a rather powerful statement.
That, in my opinion, illustrates how close this group is. But first of all, he is a fantastic player. He is a wonderful young man who has developed into an incredible leader. a close-knit group. With him, you’re simply never out of it. He will always give you an opportunity.We really wanted to win the game, so it’s sad. He didn’t do anything that would detract from his current season. He will continue to build on the incredible year that has already occurred.
Despite having virtually no running assault to help balance the Clemson offense, Klubnik had an outstanding game versus Texas. On 24 carries, the Tigers only managed 76 yards, or 3.2 yards per rush.
His season-ending totals include 3,639 passing yards, 36 touchdown passes, and just six interceptions. He also ran for seven more touchdowns and 463 yards.
The majority of the time, Klubnik’s play was able to overcome all of Clemson’s problems, and there were many this season. If he wants to be a serious contender for the Heisman Trophy next season, he will need to perform well against every elite team he faces.
This is because he didn’t play enough important games against elite opponents in 2024. In the first game of the season, for example, Georgia bottled him up to 142 total yards and no touchdowns with one pick.
