CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Clemson Tigers are again in a well-recognized spot — atop the Atlantic Coast Convention.
They usually could have discovered a quarterback to maintain them there.
Freshman Cade Klubnik got here off the bench to finish 20-of-24 passes for 279 yards and a landing and ran for a rating to guide No. 10 Clemson to the ACC championship with a 39-10 victory Saturday night time towards No. 24 North Carolina.
Cornerback Nate Wiggins broke up two passes in the long run zone, blocked a subject objective and returned an interception 98 yards for a landing because the Tigers gained their seventh ACC title in eight seasons.
Clemson (11-2, No. 9 CFP) gained six straight ACC championships from 2015-20 earlier than failing to achieve the title recreation final season. However coach Dabo Swinney’s Tigers rebounded in a giant approach, going 9-0 towards ACC foes.
“You bought a glimpse of our future at Clemson,” Swinney mentioned about Klubnik. “I’m excited to see him proceed to construct on it and achieve momentum going into subsequent yr.”
Swinney mentioned Klubnik will begin within the upcoming Orange Bowl.
With Clemson down 7-0, Swinney benched two-year starter DJ Uiagalelei after the Tigers failed to choose up a primary down on their first two possessions, Swinney turned to Klubnik, a 5-star recruit from Austin, Texas. He responded by main the Tigers to 4 straight scores and a 24-10 lead at halftime. Clemson stretched it to 39-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
Swinney mentioned he knowledgeable Klubnik on Sunday that he deliberate to place him within the recreation within the third collection no matter what occurred.
That stunned North Carolina coach Mack Brown, who mentioned he didn’t anticipate Clemson to modify QBs mid-game and it threw his group off. North Carolina had deliberate to stack the field and make Uiagalelei beat them by means of the air.
“Cade had performed little or no all yr and when he went into play towards Notre Dame he threw an interception, so we completely thought we’d see DJ as a result of they hadn’t modified all yr,” Brown mentioned.
“They advised me to organize each week like you will play and that has been my mindset,” Klubnik mentioned. “I’ve realized a lot and this week I used to be capable of dial it in.”
However it wasn’t the primary time Swinney known as Klubnik’s quantity.
He benched Uiagalelei within the second half towards Syracuse and Klubnik responded by main the Tigers to a come-from-behind 27-21 victory. Swinney additionally turned to Klubnik towards Notre Dame, though the outcomes have been the other with the freshman throwing a pick-6 in a 35-14 loss.
Klubnik had accomplished 11-of-22 passes for 98 yards coming into the sport.
However Swinney has by no means been shy about changing veteran QBs with much less skilled gamers in key conditions. He did it in 2014, sitting Cole Stoudt for Deshaun Watson, and once more in 2018 changing Kelly Bryant with Trevor Lawrence.
ACC participant of the yr Drake Maye was restricted to 268 yards passing and turned the ball over thrice for North Carolina (9-4, No. 23 CFP), which was searching for its first ACC championship since 1980 when Lawrence Taylor was wreaking havoc on quarterbacks.
Maye obtained issues began on the precise foot for the Tar Heels, capping an 11-play, 78-yard drive with a 3-yard landing run for a 7-0 lead on North Carolina’s first possession.
However the Tar Heels repeatedly sputtered on offense contained in the purple zone after that, the most important blow coming when Maye misfired close to the objective line and Wiggins — who had struggled in Clemson’s 51-45 win towards Wake Forest — returned his errant move for a landing to present Clemson a 32-10 lead with 5:05 left within the third quarter.
“He threw it proper to me,” Wiggins mentioned. “I used to be considering, ‘ain’t no one catching me. I’ve obtained to get to the top zone.’ I felt like as we speak was my day.”
Stated Maye: “We have been shifting the ball all night time and we’d get to the purple zone and we’d have a stall and a cease within the highway. It begins with me. I’ve obtained to make higher choices.”
Maye garnered loads of Heisman Trophy discuss throughout the season, however the offense has stalled leading to a three-game dropping streak. However so long as Maye doesn’t switch — and there are not any indications he’ll given his household historical past at North Carolina — the Tar Heels have an excellent probability to get again to the ACC title recreation subsequent season.
The Tigers have set a excessive bar by successful nationwide championships, in order a lot as they are going to take pleasure in getting again atop the ACC mountain there will probably be loads of discuss over whether or not Swinney value his group an opportunity at a spot within the Faculty Soccer Playoff by not turning to Klubnik at quarterback earlier within the season. It appears Uiagalelei is likely to be a logical switch portal candidate. “He has a shiny future as a soccer participant,” Swinney mentioned. “These guys love DJ and I do too.”