Clemson’s Playoff Hopes Dashed, Despite Klubnik’s Strong Performance

Clemson’s return to the College Football Playoff fell short with a 38-24 loss to Texas in Austin on Saturday.

The Tigers struggled to contain the Longhorns’ run game, allowing 292 rushing yards—the most Texas has posted this season.

“The first drive, I thought we came out with great energy,” Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin said. “We had a couple of little alignment issues there that we got cleaned up. The next drive, we missed a tackle for a loss. The little things here and there that lead to big things. It's always the pebble in your shoe, not the mountain ahead.”

Despite the loss, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik‍ shined in his home state. The Austin native threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, outdueling Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers‍.

“You’re never out of it with him,” Dabo Swinney said. “Cade said this is the most fun he’s ever had playing football: this team, this year. Pretty strong statement.”

Klubnik and freshman wide receiver TJ Moore were in sync throughout the game. Moore finished with a career-high 116 yards and a touchdown.

“They were playing off coverage more, and it opened things up,” Moore said. “I know having a career high or whatever is good, but the fact that we lost downplays it.”

Clemson also debuted Adam Randall‍ at running back, a potential shift for the future.

“He’s a natural,” Swinney said. “That's something that we want to try to grow this spring and have talked about trying to transition in there. See if we can rebrand him a little bit. I want to see what he looks like as a 230 pound back that can fly, and he's got ball skills.”

Defensively, Sammy Brown‍ led the Tigers with 10 tackles, while safety RJ Mickens‍ snagged an interception in his own homecoming to Texas.

Senior linebacker Barrett Carter‍ reflected on his Clemson journey with gratitude.

“This is probably the last time I’ll get to talk to you all,” Carter said. “I want to thank Clemson. After a lot of trials and tribulations the past four years, a lot of hard times where it would have been easy to write us off and give up on us, you never did.”

While Clemson’s playoff run was cut short, Swinney remains optimistic about the future.

“We’ve got a lot of guys coming back,” he said. “There’s a lot of young talent with valuable experience this year. I think we’ve got the pieces to build on.”