What is left to say about how uncharacteristically terrible Clemson has been under Dabo Swinney and quarterback Cade Klubnik this season? The Tigers have opened the season with a 1-3 record (the worst in Swinney's tenure), but there are no caveats for this year's team -- they've just been flat-out bad.
A loss to LSU wasn't horrible at the time, but only putting up 10 points in the season-opener was eyebrow-raising. The fans' collective finger began to hover over the panic button, however, when the Tigers struggled to put away an overmatched Troy team in Death Valley the following weekend. Now, two straight losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse (a double-digit drubbing by the Orange) leaves just one explanation: something is horribly wrong with Clemson.
When a football team is struggling, it's fair to look first to the quarterback; he's the most important position on the team, the motherboard of the team's offensive supercomputer, the controller from the backfield. For veteran signal caller Cade Klubnik, his play on the field may be setting off some alarms.
Even ESPN hasn't been afraid to pile blame onto Klubnik's plate, as a recent power four quarterback ranking has the Tiger's QB listed near the very bottom -- sitting 54th out of 68 total candidates.
"It's just shocking how poor Clemson's passing game has been this year," they stated. "Klubnik ranks 93rd in yards per dropback, 102nd in success rate and 96th in interception rate. He's facing blitzes constantly behind a banged-up offensive line (the run game has been wholly mediocre), and he's firing short and mostly ineffective passes."
His QBR tells the same story, as he's standing on a shaky foundation of a 45.1 rating through this point of the season. He hasn't exceeded 60 QBR at all in 2025 following a season where his total rating stood at 78.7. All those numbers are to say: Clemson's problems haven't ended when they meet their veteran quarterback -- he's rightly taking a hit as a result of the Tigers' nightmare season.
But Dabo Swinney's programs have been historically strong, and that's not a foundation that just disappears overnight. Last season, after opening with a humiliating 34-3 loss at the hands of Georgia, Clemson righted the ship and managed to win the ACC championship game at the end of the season. It's not too late for the Tigers to get back to their winning ways, but early returns haven't been encouraging.
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