On fourth-and-11 with 2:33 left in his college career, Cade Klubnik had a few seconds before a sea of Penn State defenders dragged him onto the freezing cold field in Yankee Stadium.
The Clemson football quarterback walked to the sideline and never returned, as the sack marked his final career snap.
The Tigers (7-6) lost 22-10 to the Nittany Lions (7-6) on Dec. 27 in the Pinstripe Bowl, marking the fourth time in Klubnik’s career his offense scored 10 or less points. Two of those four came this season, in his first and last game of 2025.
“I wanted to go out with a win,” Klubnik said, pausing to fight back tears. “Just didn’t get it done.”
Klubnik finished 22-of-39 for 193 passing yards, he was sacked four times for a loss of 40 yards and had minus-13 of his own rushing yards.
He is projected to be a middle-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Cade Klubnik got little help in final Clemson game
New York City was met with a post-Christmas snow storm and flurries remained at kickoff.
The temperature in the mid-20s was the most frigid air Klubnik has ever thrown in, but he got little help from his receivers. In the first quarter alone, there were three dropped passes, including two receivers who were wide open.
“Just the drops,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “I quit counting at seven. I know there was at least seven, maybe eight.”
When asked if the weather impacted his team, Klubnik’s head shook, before Swinney said that the weather had no impact, saying there’s no excuses.
Clemson was without 29 players because of injuries or opt outs, including star receiver Antonio Williams, who was injured.
T.J. Moore led all receivers with 83 yards on six catches but every other player logged less than 32 receiving yards. Clemson went 5-of-15 on third down, averaging just 3.6 yards per play.
Cade Klubnik stats for Clemson football career
Klubnik threw for 2,943 yards this season, the second most of his career but less than 2024 when he had 3,639 passing yards and 36 touchdowns.
Klubnik’s first full season as quarterback was in 2023, after waiting behind DJ Uiagalelei in 2022. Out of high school, he was the No. 1 quarterback and No. 1 recruit from Texas in his class in 247Sports Composite rankings.
“I try to show up and be the same person and show up and fight and just push to be the best me that I can be, because I want to be the best Cade that I can be because of him,” Klubnik said of Swinney. “He saw something in me when I was in Austin, Texas, and I wanted to go fulfill that.”
The Tigers were outgained 269 to 102 in the second half, with 78 passing yards in the final two quarters.
Klubnik went 2-1 in rivalry games against South Carolina, going 24-of-39 for 268 passing yards and one rushing touchdown in the 28-14 win this season.
Klubnik leaves with two ACC Championships, and both times he was named MVP. With his 44-yard completion to Moore in his final game, he reached 902 career completions for a school career record.
He went 916-of-1,432 for 10,123 career passing yards with 73 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
“I feel like I’ve done everything I can to try to be the best that I can be, and I get to leave this place with a smile on my face because of that,” Klubnik said. “Sad that it’s over, but glad that it happened … I’m so thankful for it, and it’s been even better than I could have ever imagined.”
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social