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COLUMBIA — Cade Klubnik walked into Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday night dressed in a long black coat and a wide-brimmed black hat — a look that immediately brought to mind a bit of old-school wrestling lore. All I could think of was Dusty Rhodes slipping into his Midnight Rider persona back in the early 1980s. Klubnik, unlike Rhodes, wasn’t hiding his identity on Saturday, but the visual echo of the Midnight Rider strolling into enemy territory wasn’t lost on this observer.
Klubnik laughed when asked later what inspired the look. “I got that hat for Christmas last year, and I guess I've just been holding on to it. So it was the right time.” As it turned out, the outfit fit the day. Clemson’s senior quarterback stepped into his final Palmetto Bowl with the calm and purpose of someone who knew exactly why he was there and what he wanted to leave behind.
“That was awesome,” he said after Clemson’s 28–14 win over South Carolina. “Just played as a team and defense showed out, offense did what we had to do, kicking team showed up, it was fun, it was awesome. Great way to go out right here.”
Asked whether the game felt like redemption from last season’s 17-14 loss, he didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely, absolutely it was. To go out against those guys with a win at their place, couldn't ask for any more.”
Klubnik was steady all afternoon, finishing 24-of-39 for 268 yards while directing an offense that produced 415 total yards — 268 through the air and 147 on the ground. Adam Randall carried the ball 24 times for 102 yards and a touchdown, churning out the kind of tough, late-November yards Clemson has leaned on him for all month.
Wideout T.J. Moore gave Klubnik a reliable target, hauling in six passes for 101 yards, including a momentum-resetting strike moments after that opening-drive interception.
“Yeah, just poor throw,” Klubnik said of the pick. “Just wrong footwork, was late to the throw. Just a bad throw. We responded and had a big play to TJ.”
He and the offensive staff had circled places they believed they could attack South Carolina, particularly in the middle of the field against a two-high look the Gamecocks rely on. Klubnik felt the plan was there for even more than what the scoreboard showed. “They’re a big run-fit team, and they’re a two-high stretch of a team. Man, Coach Riley and that offensive staff, they dialed it up. We really should have had about two more touchdowns that we just didn’t execute.”
His rushing touchdown — an improvised scoop-and-score after fumbling the ball — was a perfect snapshot of the day—and his season. It didn’t look pretty, but it worked.
“We had a little naked play. The defense ran straight up the field. They played it really well, just made a move on them and tried to tuck it and get vertical, and then just dropped it and just made a play. It's football. It's not exactly how we drew it up, but it worked.”
Still, the biggest jolt of the night belonged to the defense. Ricardo Jones’ interception return for a touchdown changed the tone and tightened Clemson’s hold on the game. “When he got that touchdown, that was awesome,” Klubnik said. “I felt like it almost sealed it.”
The Tigers did have one late highlight wiped away when Randall broke free for what would’ve been his second touchdown, only for it to be called back. Klubnik shook his head at the memory. “It stinks that they called back Adam’s touchdown. It was a heck of a run. It was an unbelievable run.”
Throughout the night, he spoke with pride — not just for the rivalry win, but for the way Clemson rallied late in a season that didn’t go the way anyone expected. “We love football. We love to play and just love to compete. We love each other. It's four straight wins now. We just continue to fight. That's not easy.”
Klubnik also made it clear what the last few months reaffirmed for him about his head coach.
“I wouldn't want any other coach. That's the reason I came here. That's the reason everybody's standing here. He's my favorite coach I've ever had in my life.”
He shared a long embrace with Dabo Swinney on the field after the game, a moment he called “awesome” — his last game in the rivalry, his last trip to Columbia, and a day that belonged to Clemson from start to finish.
And while some quarterbacks might define their time at a school by how they performed against its biggest rival, Klubnik wanted no part of that narrative. “I don't think that my legacy is in a record versus a team. I think my legacy is the impact that I've had on people's lives. Thirty, forty years from now, nobody's going to remember my record as a starting quarterback.”
Still, he allowed himself one small smile. “It is pretty great to be 2-1 versus these guys as a starter.”
Before he left, Klubnik was asked whether he cares where Clemson ends up for a bowl game; his answer was simple: “No, but I'm just excited for another game. Excited to go have a couple of more weeks with some of these guys and with this coaching staff.”
On an afternoon where Clemson found balance on offense, toughness on defense, and clarity from its quarterback, Klubnik’s joy felt unmistakable. “It’s great,” he said. “It’s a rivalry for a reason. It was good to get that one.”
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