PITTSBURGH, PA - What a game! In the fourth quarter, I was having flashbacks of the miserable 2021 game at Pitt. The Tigers led 17-7 at the half and had several chances to build a big lead, but they were shutout for almost the entire second half, and Pitt scored 13 unanswered points to take its first lead of the game, 20-17 with 1:36 left! I knew that Cade and the offense was more than capable of scoring a field goal or even a touchdown in that amount of time with two timeouts left, but given the fact that they had 8 net rush yards in the game at that point and couldn't even get a first down in the second half, it was looking very bleak! After an 18-yard completion to Antonio and a 7-yard completion to Briningstool, I was standing behind the goal post, thinking the Tigers might be kicking a game-tying field goal soon or driving to the endzone. Suddenly I saw Cade break free on a quarterback run and sprinting down the sideline! I sprinted to the corner of the endzone just has he crossed the goal line for a 50-yard, game-winning touchdown run. It was perhaps a Heisman moment for Cade's 2025 campaign!
The national media won't know the fact that the Tigers were extremely short-handed on the road, especially in the trenches. They were minus half of their entire offensive line unit, which made it impossible to establish a run game or protect Cade in the pass game long enough for receivers to get open. Freshman OL Elyjah Thurmon was thrust into duty last week after Tristan Leigh was injured early at VA Tech. The freshman did a tremendous job, especially being a freshman in a loud, hostile environment but in his very first play as a starter at Pitt, he was injured and knocked out for the season! With Leigh, Tate, Sadler and Pennington already out, that left the Tigers scrambling and having to move players out of their natural positions. Walker Parks had never played tackle in his life but had to move to the outside. Furthermore, the Tigers got DE Peter Woods back, but he had to play at DT because Capehart is still out. In addition, starting cornerback Shelton Lewis was out. And it didn't stop there! Starting LB Wade Woodaz was injured in practice during the week and was in street clothes on the sideline. That gave freshman LB Sammy Brown his second career start, but he was ejected for targeting just before halftime! So the Tigers only had one experienced linebacker for the entire game in Barrett Carter, and despite being on the field for 20 of the 30 minutes in the second half with the offense's inability to stay on the field, the defense found a way to keep the Tigers in it and get the stops they had to have! Many probably forgot about it after the wild finish, but Carter made an unbelievable shoestring tackle to save a touchdown, and the Tigers recovered a fumble on the very next play! Even after Cade's score with a minute left, the defense had to go back on the field and get a stop to win the game. Playing prevent defense, Pitt was able to drive down the field, but Barnes fittingly intercepted a pass at the goal line to end the game. The defense was completely exhausted but showed tremendous heart! I walked by Payton Page on my way off the field, and he could hardly walk.
I asked Cade after the game if he ever led a last-minute, game-winning touchdown drive at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, and he chuckled, saying that he had just said to his brother that it felt like the North Shore game. He led an 80-yard, last-minute touchdown drive in that game as well. There' no doubt that Cade had the confidence in himself and had the confidence of his teammates in that situation, but to do it at this level with the pressure and stakes that were on the line? That has to be big pivot point in his maturation process, and it's a seminal moment for this young football team. In fact, it's probably better that the Tigers won the way they did rather than breaking open a 3-score lead in the second half the way they did last week in Blacksburg. You can't quantify a moment like that and the bonding that went on in the locker room after. Let's not forge that this is a young football team, and they have not been in a tight game like that all season. All of their wins were blowouts, and they were pretty well out of it in the second half in both losses. Next time these players are in a similar pressure-packed situation with the odds against them, they will have the belief from having done it on the road and be able to draw on that.
By the way, let's not forget about the career-long 51-yard field goal by freshman kicker Nolan Hauser! The Tigers' kicking woes this season have been unprecedented, and the two blocked field goals cost them the game against Louisville. It was Hauser's only attempt in the game, and if he had missed or had it blocked again, Pitt would have only needed a field goal to win the game at the end. The freshman made the clutch kick, and he is still perfect for his career when he gets the kick away! Speaking of special teams, I wrote about what a good game Swanson had last week in Blacksburg. The Hokies had one of the best return men in the country, and he was held to 4 return yards on Swanson's 5 punts. Pitt also had one of the best return men in the nation in Reid, who had an incredible game both running and receiving against the Tigers. He came in averaging 16 yards per punt return and has a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown this season! Swanson once again did a phenomenal job, and he was held to negative return yards.
I'll have more analysis in a bit. In the meantime, post-game interviews, highlights and notes are below!
WITH THE WIN...
- Clemson has now reached eight wins in a season for the 42nd time in school history and for the 15th time in Dabo Swinney's 16 full seasons as head coach.
- Clemson finished ACC regular season play 7-1. It marks Clemson's 11th season in school history with seven or more ACC wins and is Clemson's 10th such season since 2012 (1983, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022).
- Clemson finished the regular season 4-0 in true road games. Clemson entered the week as one of 12 FBS schools (and one of nine power conference programs) that remains undefeated in road games this season.
- Clemson recorded a perfect record in true road games in a season for the 10th time in program history (1900, 1917, 1948, 1981, 1995, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019).
- Clemson improved to 40-8 in true road games since 2015. Clemson's 40 road wins in that span are the most in the country (Note: Boise State can match the mark this evening).
- Clemson improved to 45-25-2 in regular season conference finales since the inception of the ACC in 1953. Clemson's last loss in its final ACC game of regular season play came in 2014 against Georgia Tech.
- Clemson won its 10th straight regular season ACC finale, adding to the program’s longest winning streak in ACC finales.
- Clemson evened its all-time series with Pitt at 3-3.
- Clemson improved to 24-10 under Dabo Swinney in games against teams to which Clemson lost its most recent game. Clemson is 3-1 in such games this season, including victories against NC State, Florida State and Pitt.
- Clemson improved to 22-13 in games at NFL stadiums under Dabo Swinney including a 19-9 mark in those venues since 2015.
- Clemson improved to 139-19 against AP-unranked teams under Dabo Swinney and is now 115-9 in those games since the start of the 2012 season.
- Clemson improved to 102-14 in regular season play since the start of the 2015 season.
- Clemson improved to 32-5 in November games since 2015.
- Clemson is now 74-2 since 2015 when outscoring opponents in the “Middle Eight,” defined as the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half.
- Clemson is now 86-6 when scoring first since 2015.
- Clemson is now 143-4 since 2011 when leading after three quarters.
- Clemson now has an 85-4 record when winning the turnover margin since 2011.
- Clemson has now won 119 of its last 120 games when holding teams under 23 points (dates to 2010).
- Clemson is now 39-11 in one-possession games since 2011, the highest winning percentage in the country in one-score games in that span (.780).
GAME NOTES
- Clemson trailed 20-17 with 1:36 remaining but earned its 23rd fourth-quarter comeback win of Dabo Swinney’s tenure. It was Clemson’s first such win of the season and its first since the 2023 Gator Bowl against Kentucky.
- Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 27-of-41 passes for 288 yards with two passing touchdowns and no interceptions and added a 50-yard rushing touchdown.
- Klubnik improved to 17-7 and tied Bobby Gage (17-7 from 1946-48) for the 14th-most wins as a starting quarterback for Clemson since World War II.
- Klubnik engineered the game-winning three-play, 75-yard drive in the final minutes, rushing for the go-ahead 50-yard touchdown with 1:16 remaining.
- The 50-yard rushing touchdown by Klubnik was Clemson’s longest game-winning offensive touchdown inside the final two minutes of a game on record.
- The 50-yard rushing touchdown was Klubnik’s career-high fifth rushing touchdown of the season.
- Klubnik has now recorded two rushing touchdowns of 50-plus yards this season. He became the first Clemson player to record multiple 50-yard rushing touchdowns in a single season since Travis Etienne in 2019 (two).
- Klubnik became the first Clemson quarterback to record multiple 50-yard rushing touchdowns in a career since Woodrow Dantzler (three from 1999-2001).
- With the touchdown run, Klubnik (11) tied Homer Jordan (11 from 1979-82) for ninth on Clemson's all-time leaderboard for career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
- With his second touchdown pass of the game, Klubnik (31) entered the Top 10 in Clemson history in single-season touchdown responsibility (all touchdowns scored or thrown). With the game-winning touchdown run, he moved into a tie with Trevor Lawrence (31 in 2018) and Woodrow Dantzler (31 in 2001) for eighth in school history.
- During the contest, Klubnik (6,104) passed Woodrow Dantzler (6,037 from 1998-2001) for the fifth-most career passing yards in Clemson history.
- Klubnik (6,766) also passed DJ Uiagalelei (6,594 from 2020-22) for seventh on Clemson's career leaderboard for yards of total offense (combined rushing and passing yards).
- Wide receiver Antonio Williams recorded career highs in receiving yards (149) and receptions (13) and matched his career high with two touchdown receptions.
- Williams’ 13 receptions were the most by a Clemson player since both Mike Williams (15) and Artavis Scott (13) reached the mark against Pitt in 2016. It tied for the fourth-most in a game in Clemson history.
- The 100-yard receiving game was the first of Williams’ career, and his 149 receiving yards surpassed his previous career high of 84 set against Florida State earlier this season.
- Williams now has 617 receiving yards this season, a new single-season career high.
- Clemson opened the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik to Williams.
- The first touchdown to Williams was the culmination of a 93-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter. Clemson has now had a 93-yard touchdown drive in back-to-back games and has five touchdown drives of 90 or more yards this season.
- Williams added a 28-yard touchdown reception from Klubnik in the second quarter.
- The game was Williams’ third multi-touchdown game of his career and his second of the season.
- Williams became the first Clemson player to record multiple games with two or more receiving touchdowns in a single season since Amari Rodgers in 2020 (two).
- Williams (eight) became the first Clemson player with eight touchdown receptions in a season since 2019 (Tee Higgins, 13; and Justyn Ross, eight).
- With 17 rushing yards, running back Phil Mafah (2,770) passed Woodrow Dantzler (2,761 from 1998-2001) to move into 10th on Clemson's all-time leaderboard for career rushing yards.
- Clemson recorded a season-high eight sacks. It doubled Clemson’s previous season high of four set against Stanford.
- Clemson’s eight sacks were its most since an eight-sack game against Wake Forest in 2021.
- Clemson also recorded a season-high 16 tackles for loss.
- Clemson’s 16 tackles for loss were its most since recording 17 against Miami (Fla.) in 2004. It tied for the fourth-most in school history, matching Clemson’s 16 tackles for loss against Virginia Tech in 1987.
- Clemson’s previous high in tackles for loss this season was 10 against Stanford. Clemson had 10 tackles for loss in the first half alone against Pitt.
- Defensive tackle Payton Page and linebacker Barrett Carter combined on Clemson’s first sack of the game in the second quarter.
- On the half-sack, Carter reached 30 career tackles for loss.
- Carter finished the game with a team-high 12 tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss, a pass breakup and the half-sack.
- Defensive end Cade Denhoff recorded his first career sack in the second quarter.
- Defensive lineman Peter Woods, who made his first start of the season at defensive tackle after starting seven games at defensive end, split a sack with defensive end Jahiem Lawson in the second quarter. The half-sack was the first of Lawson’s career.
- The duo of Woods and Lawson combined for another sack later in the quarter.
- Defensive end T.J. Parker recorded a career-high and school-record-tying 4.0 sacks. It matched four-sack efforts by Keith Adams vs. Duke in 1999, Andre Branch vs. Virginia Tech in 2011 and Austin Bryant vs. Auburn in 2017.
- With his first sack, Parker (9.0) surpassed his previous single-season career high set last season (5.5).
- On his second sack, Parker forced his fourth forced fumble of the season, moving him within one of the school record for caused fumbles in a single season (five by Brandon Maye in 2009).
- The fumble forced by Parker was recovered by Lawson, the first fumble recovery of Lawson’s career.
- Safety Khalil Barnes sealed the win with his second interception of the season. It was the fifth interception of his career.
- Safety R.J. Mickens tied his career high with 10 tackles and recorded a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss.
- Kicker Nolan Hauser recorded a career-long 51-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the first half. It was Clemson’s first field goal of 50-plus yards this season and first since Jonathan Weitz’s 52-yard field goal in the 2023 Gator Bowl against Kentucky.
- Hauser’s 51-yard field goal to close the half came at the end of a nine-play, 39-yard drive spanning 45 seconds.
- Punter Aidan Swanson recorded a career-high six punts downed inside the 20. His previous single-game career high in punts inside the 20 entering the game was five, set against both Notre Dame and South Carolina in 2023.
- Swanson (six) was one punt inside the 20 shy of the school record in the category of seven set by Kevin Laird in the 1996 Peach Bowl against LSU.
- After having three punts downed inside the 20 in Clemson’s first seven games of the season, Swanson has placed 11 punts inside the 20 in Clemson’s last three games, including 10 in the last two weeks.
- Swanson punted a career-high-tying eight times, matching his eight against South Carolina in 2022.
- Clemson scored in its 290th consecutive game to pass the 1994-2017 Tennessee Volunteers for sole possession of the 13th-longest streak in FBS history without being shut out. Clemson's active streak dates to early in the 2003 season.
- Clemson has now scored at least one rushing touchdown in a national-best 85 of its 92 games since the start of the 2018 season.
- Clemson won the turnover margin, 2-1. Clemson finished even or better in the turnover margin in a ninth straight game for the first time since an 11-game streak across the 2021-22 seasons. Dating to last season, Clemson has lost the turnover margin only once in its last 15 games.
- Clemson played a 12th consecutive game (dating to last season) with one giveaway or fewer for the first time since the 2019-20 seasons. Dating to last season, Clemson has eight giveaways over its last 12 games and has not had a multi-giveaway game in that span.
- Clemson led at halftime, 17-7. It was Clemson’s 83rd game since 2017 in which it led at halftime, tied with Alabama for the most in the nation in that span. Clemson is now 80-3 in those games.
- Pitt committed 13 penalties for 100 yards. The 13 penalties were the most by a Clemson opponent since Miami (Fla.) committed 15 penalties in 2020.
- Clemson played its third game in the city of Pittsburgh all-time including the Tigers’ 34-13 win against Duquesne at Forbes Field in 1947.
- Captains for the contest were tight end Jake Briningstool, safety R.J. Mickens, offensive lineman Blake Miller and defensive lineman Peter Woods.
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