2 hours ago 2

Clemson QB Cade Klubnik throws doubt on late Syracuse injuries in loss: 'That's up to them if they wanna be honest about that'

For the first time since Dabo Swinney took over at Clemson, the Tigers are 1-3 after another tough loss at home. The 34-21 loss to Syracuse came after the Tigers had five turnovers, including three on downs, in the second half.

After the game, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik acknowledged that the Tigers weren't able to deliver in the end zone, despite playing "with tempo." But the senior QB also implied that a late Syracuse injury may have helped halt the team's momentum.

"Props to them, they stopped us on some third downs at certain times and then, you know, they have an injury, or something like that, when we really got going," Klubnik said, via multiple reporters. "That's up to them if they wanna be honest about that, but you know. That was definitely tough for us to really get in a rhythm. We're playing fast, and then, unfortunately, they have a guy get hurt or something ... I feel like we came out really healthy and hopefully they did too so."

Klubnik finished the weather-delayed game going 37-of-60, throwing for 363 yards and three touchdowns. But the Tigers had several doomed series, especially in the second half of the loss.

In the third quarter, Clemson turned the ball over on downs twice, with running back Adam Randall also fumbling on the Tigers’ first play of a late drive to set up an easy Syracuse touchdown. The Tigers' comeback bid ended in the fourth quarter: Though Klubnik connected with Bryant Wesco Jr. for a touchdown, he threw an interception to Davien Kerr on fourth-and-10 on the next drive.

Klubnik casting doubt on Syracuse's injuries is notable given that the NCAA has tried to limit faking injuries as a way to waste time. The NCAA approved a rule change in April that was intended to keep teams from using injuries as a way to slow down teams playing a fast-pace, especially in potential comeback situations.

Under the rule, teams are charged a timeout if the training staff comes to tend to a player after the ball was already spotted, or charged with a delay of game penalty if they do not have any timeouts left.

Though Clemson's pace might have been slowed by an injury, the Tigers had plenty of other problems in Saturday's game, as the 2025 season starts to feel like a total bust. Clemson has slipped to 0-2 in the ACC, dropping to its worst start in 21 years and making Swinney's promises of winning feel extra hollow. Klubnik might be skeptical about some of the Orange's injuries, but it doesn't change the fact that Clemson got beat.

Read Entire Article