After the ACC Championship Game victory, Clemson secured their spot in the College Football Playoffs and will travel to Austin to take on Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns in a highly-anticipated first round matchup.
The Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik returns to his homestate of Texas and will see many familiar faces when he clashes with the Longhorns. Sarkisian recruited Klubnik who was a top prospect in the 2022 class, but eventually the quarterback headed for Clemson.
A long-awaited rematch will take place between Quinn Ewers and Cade Klubnik, both Texas’ born and raised quarterbacks faced off against each other in the 2021 6A Division 2 State Championship. Klubnik ultimately defeated Ewers, as his school Austin Westlake dominated Ewers’ Southlake Carroll, 52-34.
Klubnik became a high-school star in Texas as he led his school to a 30-0 record as a starting quarterback and was highly-rated going into the NCAA. Three years later, Ewers and Klubnik’s paths meet again, and Steve Sarkisian made something clear on Clemson’s QB.
“He’s a winner,” Sarkisian said, via InsideTexas. “He’s going to do what it takes. He’ll throw it. He’ll run it. He’ll block. Then that guy will do whatever it takes to try to put his team in position to be successful.”
Clemson HC Dabo Swinney chimes in
Clemson turned their season around just in time and thanks to Syracuse’s help, they punched their ticket to the ACC Title game. It was win-or-go home for the Tigers when they took on SMU in Charlotte. After a nail-biting 34-31 triumph, Clemson clinched the conference title and earned their spot in the playoffs.
Now it’s time for the real fun to begin. The Tigers will face the Longhorns on the road, in a very hostile environment. College football playoff games will be played in home-fields for the first time and Clemson hopes to play spoilers at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.
It has come full circle for Klubnik, as he will experience his first playoff game back in his homestate and against familiar faces. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney believes it adds a special layer to an already exciting matchup.
“It’s all about the game but that’s also a really cool storyline for our quarterback. You never know how things are going to work out in this crazy game of college football. For him to be going to his first playoff, and his first playoff game is in Austin, Texas where he grew up, you can’t make that up. Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to be able to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”