Cade Klubnik threw three touchdown passes to lead No. 19 Clemson to a 24-14 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday.
The Tigers (7-2, 6-1) relied on Klubnik’s passing and a strong defensive performance that limited Virginia Tech to just 228 yards, their lowest total of the season. The win helped Clemson bounce back from a tough home loss to Louisville and stay in the race for the ACC title. Clemson also extended its winning streak over Virginia Tech to seven games.
“I’m proud of our guys,” said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. “That’s how you respond after an incredibly disappointing performance last week.
To see our guys respond like that, with unbelievable mental toughness and a will to win, they had a determined spirit. The biggest thing I saw today was heart, and that’s what I asked them to put on display.”
Kyron Drones led Virginia Tech (5-5, 3-3) with 115 yards passing, but he was replaced in the fourth quarter after the Hokies fell behind 21-7.
Clemson was trailing 7-0 at halftime but quickly took control in the second half, scoring touchdowns on three of their first four possessions. Klubnik started the second half with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Cole Turner.
On the next possession, he connected with T.J. Moore for a 41-yard touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter, Klubnik threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Briningstool.
“We had to go do what we do and execute at a high rate,” Klubnik said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot in the first half. We were putting great drives together. We just had to go finish them. We responded. We felt great in the locker room at halftime. We knew we were marching on them. We just had to go have a good second half — and we did.”
Klubnik finished the game with 211 yards on 16 of 34 passing and added 30 yards rushing. Phil Mafah had 128 rushing yards for the Tigers, who totaled 378 yards.
Virginia Tech scored its only offensive touchdown with 1:43 left in the game on a 14-yard pass from Collin Schlee to Ayden Greene. The Hokies were held to just 40 yards rushing, far below their season average of 201.4 yards per game.
“There are some things we did well out there, but too many mistakes,” said Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry. “Untimely penalties, dropped balls, busted calls defensively, turnovers… You can’t beat a good team making the mistakes we made this evening.”
