CLEMSON — The Clemson Tigers put their own backs against the wall with an upset loss to start the season to Duke. While the Blue Devils look like a great team now, that doesn’t matter.
With no room for error, the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles came to Death Valley and escaped a thriller with a 31-24 win. With Clemson falling to 0-2 in the ACC and dashing all hopes of climbing back into the College Football Playoff, here’s three takeaways from a game where the Tigers actually looked like the Tigers.
Cade Klubnik is growing up
It felt like the world was waiting to crash down on Klubnik after the first two games of the 2023 season. A mess in Durham before ugly turnovers against Charleston Southern. He found some confidence against FAU, and it paid dividends when he looked like a four-year veteran against the Seminoles.
With a final stat line of 25-38, 283 yard and two total touchdowns, he put Clemson in a place to win. While we can argue about the FSU scoop six, that’s not Klubnik’s fault so let’s talk about the positives.
He was poised all day, and ate a multitude of hard hits to deliver strikes to his receivers. This was without starter Antonio Williams, and he willed his group to success with pinpoint throws. While receivers have to show something, Klubnik has to put them in good position and he elevated that unit against Florida State. Bravo, even if it was in vain.
Xavier Thomas is a true NFL talent
As I’ve said before, the box score never tells the story on the defensive line. Thomas was excellent against Florida State, and he had to be with the threat of Jordan Travis. Pick a play and there was a good chance Thomas was being held.
There was back-to-back drives where he got held them hit in the face with no calls. All of this is to say watch the tape on Thomas. He spent all day in the backfield and there’s no doubt scouts saw that. One sack on the day but a multitude of pressures that show Thomas is the real deal as a pass rusher.
Clemson could be in trouble at CB
Nate Wiggins was excellent all day against an elite FSU receiving core, and he made the play at the end of regulation to keep Clemson in it. When he did, he suffered what appeared to be a hypertension of his knee and that never bodes well.
In overtime, the Seminoles targeted his replacement, Jaedyn Lukus immediately for a score. It wasn’t bad coverage by any means, but it’s a sign of what could be coming. There’s no easy solution to replacing a starter and if Wiggins is out indefinitely, it’s a void that will be extremely difficult to fill for a defense that showed a lot of great things.