A backup QB saved Clemson from a big second-half deficit at home to Syracuse. Heard this one before?
This time, it was Cade Klubnik, who took over after Dabo Swinney benched DJ Uiagalelei with the fifth-ranked Tigers down 21-10 to the 14th-ranked Orange in the third quarter, and rallied Clemson to a 27-21 win.
Clemson (8-0, 6-0 ACC) rushed a season-high 60 times for a season-high 293 yards, with sophomore Will Shipley, who gave the Tigers the lead for good with a 50-yard TD run with 11:26 left, going for 172 yards on 27 attempts.
Uiagalelei was benched after his third turnover of the day, and Klubnik, the nation’s top recruit in the Class of 2022, led the Tigers 80 yards as Phil Mafah, who had 94 yards on 18 carries on the day, sealed the 15-play drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown.
The Shipley run put Clemson on top to stay, and B.T. Potter made it 27-21 with a 44-yard field goal with 1:33 to go.
“This is a special moment. A lot of adversity. Our team has showed that they can win a whole lot of different ways” Swinney said. “This is a great team win. Shout out to the Valley. This is a historic win and I’m so grateful for it.”
After the game, Swinney tried to downplay the benching of Uiagalelei.
“D.J.’s our quarterback,” Swinney told ESPN’s Molly McGrath. “That’s our our guy. That’s our quarterback.”
This after Swinney had chided fans and those in the media who had speculated in the offseason and preseason that Uiagalelei would be on a short leash this season, after he struggled mightily in 2021 in his first season as the starter at Clemson.
“Everybody had their prognostications on when he wouldn’t be the starter anymore,” Swinney said earlier this week. “People love to do that type of stuff. It’s embarrassing, really. But that’s the world we live in.”
Syracuse (6-1, 3-1 ACC) got a big day from its starting QB, Garrett Shrader, who was 18-of-26 for 167 yards, a TD and an INT through the air and added 71 yards and a TD on the ground.
Sean Tucker, the ACC’s second leading rusher coming in, got just five carries, gaining 54 yards on the ground.