Cade Klubnik was frustrated with his slow start, even though he threw for over 300 yards and three touchdown passes.
At first, Clemson’s quarterback struggled, throwing a bad interception that Virginia turned into a touchdown, giving them a 10-3 lead. This was the first time the 10th-ranked Tigers had been behind at home in four games this season.
However, Clemson and Klubnik soon found their rhythm, leading to a 48-31 victory over the Cavaliers on Saturday.
“Sometimes, you just don’t have as good of a game as you do others, and that’s OK,” said Klubnik, who completed 23 of 35 passes for 308 yards. “That’s why you get to have peace after the game knowing we put up 500 and something yards and however many points.”
Tight end Olsen Patt-Henry caught two touchdown passes, and Phil Mafah scored twice on short runs as the Tigers (6-1) improved to 5-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They won 11 out of their last 12 games and beat the Cavaliers (4-3, 2-2 ACC) for the seventh time in a row.
The only downside for the Tigers was that this win came against former Clemson receiver and longtime assistant coach Tony Elliott, who was back in Death Valley for the first time since taking the Virginia job three seasons ago.
After the game, Swinney and Elliott shared a long hug before heading to the locker room.
“It was great to see a ton of people” from his former life at Clemson, he said. “As I told the guys last night, my job is to stay focused and focus on being the best version of myself to help this football team. Unfortunately, I’ve got to do a better job to have them execute at a high level.”
Elliott’s team did something that no other team had done in three previous home games this season—taking the lead on the Tigers after Klubnik’s third interception of the season.
That’s when the Tigers went on a roll, scoring 35 points in a row to secure the win. Mafah tied the game with a 1-yard run and then put Clemson ahead for good with a 3-yard run.
Patt-Henry caught an 11-yard touchdown pass on Clemson’s first drive of the second half and then was wide open for a 40-yard touchdown run down the left sideline. This happened when the Tigers decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 two drives later, giving them a 38-10 lead.
“That was just us believing in each other and we’re all going to ride behind (Klubnik) no matter what,” Patt-Henry said. “It comes with the hours of hard work, all the preparation in just being able to trust each other.”
Klubnik set a career record with 20 touchdown passes this season, beating the 19 he threw last year during his first season as a starter.
Clemson receiver Antonio Williams completed a pass for the second week in a row. He had a 28-yard touchdown throw to Jake Briningstool in a 49-14 win against Wake Forest on October 12. This time, Williams threw a 34-yard pass to Troy Stellato, which ended at the Virginia 3-yard line and set up Mafah’s second touchdown.
It was the first time a non-quarterback at Clemson completed passes in back-to-back games. Virginia’s Elliott did it as a Tigers receiver in 2002 during games against Florida State and Virginia.
Swinney called Elliott about an hour after the game to share the news. “You can’t make that up,” Swinney said. Williams also added a 36-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
