It’s a three-team race for two spots in the ACC Championship Game, set for Dec. 7 in Charlotte. And has so often been the case over the past decade, Clemson is in the mix (along with Miami and SMU).
With two regular-season games remaining, the Tigers have already completed their ACC slate with a 7-1 record (they’re 8-2 overall) while SMU is 6-0 and Miami is 5-1. A berth in the new 12-team College Football Playoff hangs in the balance.
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No. 17 Clemson is no stranger to ACC Championship Games, having won the league seven of the past nine seasons, yet the Tigers posted a 9-4 record a season ago and missed out on the 2023 ACC title game. Leading the charge and out to prove that 2023 was an anomaly is junior quarterback Cade Klubnik, whose improvement has helped lead to Clemson’s resurgence.
Perhaps no sequence so clearly illustrates Klubnik’s importance to the team’s success this season than the final drive on Saturday on the road against Pitt. The Panthers had just converted a field goal to take a 20-17 lead with 1:36 remaining, and the Tigers started from their own 25-yard line, needing a field goal to send the game to overtime.
Overtime wasn’t on Klubnik’s mind, however. After he completed two passes to advance the ball to the 50, Klubnik called his own number.
CLUTCH KLUBNIK!!
Tigers retake the lead after the 50-yard QB run!
📺 @ClemsonFB x ESPN pic.twitter.com/sOkZHMPchy
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) November 16, 2024
Klubnik’s heroic 50-yard touchdown scamper gave Clemson the win, 24-20.
While wearing eye black in the shape of a cross under both eyes — smeared from a hard day’s work — Klubnik pointed to his Heavenly Father when asked about the play on the field after the game.
“(Reserve QB and student coach) Paul Tyson comes up to me and he goes, ‘Man, God’s in your corner.’ And at that time I just felt peace,” Klubnik told ESPN. “I’m just sitting on the sideline praying that God would be in control, and He was.”
“At that time I just felt peace and I was on the sideline praying that God would be in control. And He was.”
Clemson QB @CadeKlubnikQB is playing for an audience of one as he scored the game winning TD to help the Tigers beat Pittsburgh 24-20.
🎥 ESPN pic.twitter.com/h0JytJvo0b
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) November 17, 2024
Klubnik already has a career high in touchdowns (26) in 2024, and he’s on pace to set career highs in passing yards and quarterback rating as well. He’s only thrown four interceptions this fall, down from the nine he threw last season with only 19 touchdowns. He’s also improved his rushing totals (341 yards on 78 carries with five touchdowns).
Klubnik arrived on Clemson’s campus in January 2022 as a highly touted recruit, holding numerous school records at the famous Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, and being named the MaxPreps Player of the Year and Football Player of the Year in Texas.
He backed up D.J. Uiagalelei as a freshman in 2022, although he did win ACC Championship Game MVP when he replaced Uiagalelei early in Clemson’s 39-10 win against North Carolina. As a sophomore, Klubnik was unable to meet the lofty expectations of fans and media members as the Tigers stumbled to a 4-4 start. But Klubnik righted the ship and the Tigers closed the season with five consecutive wins, including a 38-35 victory against Kentucky in the Gator Bowl.
Klubnik’s football journey has been marked by wins and losses, starting and benching, praise and criticism. Through it all, he’s found peace in Christ, his Firm Foundation. Since his time at Westlake, Klubnik hasn’t been shy about sharing his faith.
In a video posted on Instagram and set to the music of Matt Redman’s “10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord), he announced his decision to commit to Clemson and thanked all who helped him along the way.
“Over the years, God has blessed me with many things — the love for the game, the drive, the passion to be better, the feeling of never being satisfied, which pushes me even harder,” he said. “I’ve been blessed with amazing coaches my whole life, since the very beginning.
“… Last but not least, I’d like to thank my mom and dad. Thank you for showing me what it truly means to be a man of Christ, what it means to be a leader amongst many. I’ve played hundreds of games in my life and I know y’all wouldn’t miss one for the world.”
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Klubnik describes himself as a “believer” in both his Instagram and X bios, and he lists the Bible passages James 1:2-4 on Instagram and Psalm 23:4 on X as well. He frequently shares on Instagram other verses with his 102,000 followers.
View this post on Instagram
Klubnik joined the Sports Spectrum Podcast in July 2023, and talked about growth both as a college football quarterback and as a follower of Christ.
“I’ve been given this platform and I don’t want to put it to waste,” Klubnik said of the opportunity he has to influence people as the starting quarterback at Clemson. “I haven’t really done much to get to where I am now. It’s all just because of the Lord. So because of where I am, no matter what platform I’m using, I want to be able to use it to speak about God.”
Klubnik said he was flooded with invitations to Bible studies and Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings when he stepped foot inside the Tigers’ football facilities, and that was just fine with him. In fact, he chose Clemson in part because of its reputation for being a faith-based program under head coach Dabo Swinney.
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Klubnik said on the podcast that God has blessed him immensely with a ministry called “First15” — which helps believers devote the first 15 minutes of their day to the Lord: five in worship, five in prayer, five in Scripture — calling it “one of the best things I’ve ever learned” because it’s an opportunity to commune with Christ.
“Nothing in my life will ever compare to how important and how, just, incredible God is in my life,” Klubnik said on the podcast. “I’ve been thankful to have just great experiences in the game of football throughout my life so far, but not one of those have come close to the amazing things that God has done in my life.”
Klubnik and his Tigers face a challenge from in-state opponent The Citadel (5-6) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET), as they keep an eye on the results of Miami’s and SMU’s games in the ACC race.
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