Klubnik says Tigers are coming off the best O-line performance he's ever seen

Cade Klubnik says Clemson's O-line performance against Notre Dame was the best he's ever seen.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Tue Nov 07 17:11:03 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - Complementary football, with the ground game dominating and with the defense imposing their will, was on display in the win over Notre Dame.

Sophomore quarterback Cade Klubnik actually had a career-low in passing yards for a game he has started in with 109, but that is more because the Tigers did not need to pass the ball with how both junior running back Phil Mafah and redshirt junior running back Domonique Thomas ran the ball.

“Super happy for Dominique, just the story that he’s had, for him to be able to shine so bright in such a big game like that was really cool,” Klubnik said. “But, both (Mafah and Thomas) played really, really well, just really proud of them.”

It all starts up front with the offensive line, which has been a struggle throughout the season, especially because of the numerous injuries. However, facing No. 15 Notre Dame, this line was able to hold this dynamic defense to just one sack; they had 19 sacks in their first nine games. This performance visibly made Klubnik more than thrilled when speaking with the media this past Monday.

“In all of my years of football, that was the best game I’ve ever seen played by a starting five without a doubt,” Klubnik said. “That was incredible, and that was nothing more than the mentality they had going into the game. They just wanted it, and that was just so cool to see.”

There was a lot of hype around this offense during the offseason. While injuries certainly have not helped the matter, there has been a bit of disappointment up until the game against the Irish regarding the performance of this offense as a whole. However, sometimes developing chemistry just takes time, particularly when you get a new offensive coordinator.

Garrett Riley came from TCU after their trip to the National Championship. He turned a backup quarterback into a Heisman finalist. That time it takes to build chemistry does not seem to be a factor off the field here, but perhaps it is on the field. Overall, Klubnik admires Riley’s approachability and sees him as an “elite” coordinator.

“We get along very well and just easy to talk to, easy to talk about ball with. It doesn’t feel like there’s ever a forced conversation or anything, just always easy to go and talk to. But also, easy to just go talk to and talk about life and just somebody who’s a really good person to go talk to,” Klubnik said. “I don’t think it’s common to have an elite, elite offensive coordinator and also someone you just really enjoy being with everyday.”

Now that the Tigers have procured head coach Dabo Swinney’s 166th victory and are one game away from bowl contention, they face Georgia Tech this Saturday (Noon / ABC). The Yellow Jackets are still in the running for the ACC Championship, although they do need some things to go their way. Further, they are also sitting at five wins and are fighting for their first bowl game since 2018, when they lost the Quick Lane Bowl versus the University of Minnesota.

If Clemson is able to put together another display of complementary football, they should be able to get their bowl eligibility against the Yellow Jackets, despite what is on the line for them. For the Tigers, that would be their nineteenth straight season in a bowl game. For Klubnik, it is all about having the same mentality the team did against the Irish.

“In a way, you kind of have to look back on that and say, ‘How can we replicate that in a way?’ But, that’s how we should play every game,” Klubnik said. “That’s the mentality we should have every game, and I think we finally just got to see it as players and kind of, we know what it feels like.”