NCAAF

Clemson Tigers at Pittsburgh Panthers

· NCAA - Football
8-2, 4-0 Away
Final
24 - 20
7-3, 5-2 Home

Klubnik's late touchdown run helps No. 17 Clemson escape with a 24-20 win over Pitt

Cade Klubnik races into the end zone for a 50-yard go-ahead TD

The clock was running. Clemson was trailing Pittsburgh and all of the Tigers' timeouts were gone. So the junior quarterback broke into the secondary on a designed run and then veered right for the safety of the sideline.

Klubnik never got there. He never had to. A well-timed block from wide receiver T.J. Moore gave Klubnik a lane that offered nothing but green grass and victory. Klubnik's instincts led him to cut up the field for a go-ahead 50-yard touchdown run with 1:16 remaining that lifted the 17th-ranked Tigers past the Panthers 24-20 on Saturday.

“It doesn't feel real in a moment like that," said Klubnik. “You're just like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m loose.' Those last 15-20 yards was a crazy feeling for sure.”

A familiar one too. The Tigers practice that exact situation — field goal ties the game, touchdown wins it — every Wednesday in practice. And head coach Dabo Swinney stressed it wasn't the first time Klubnik ended one of those drives with his legs rather than his right arm.

“He's just a relentless competitor,” Swinney said. “He's got a big heart on him. It was pretty special.”

And necessary. Klubnik's dash kept Clemson's outside hopes of reaching the ACC title game alive. The Tigers (8-2, 7-1 ACC) need No. 12 Miami to lose one of its final two games or No. 14 SMU to drop its last two contests to reach the championship game in Charlotte on Dec. 7.

Regardless of how it turns out, Swinney believes the program took a significant step forward this season after going 4-4 in the conference a year ago. Asked if the Tigers deserve to be in the conversation for the College Football Playoff, Swinney pointed to his team's 4-0 mark in true road games, its lengthy resume of playoff success in the CFP era and its resiliency.

“I think we’ve got a team that’s that’s really kind of just finding their way right now,” he said.

Even amid a rash of injuries to the offensive line, it helps to have Klubnik. He passed for 288 yards and two scores to Antonio Williams, who had 13 receptions for 149 yards — both career highs. Sophomore defensive end T.J. Parker tied a school record by collecting four of Clemson's eight sacks.

Still, the Tigers needed Klubnik's heroics after the Panthers (7-3, 3-3) dominated the second half. Pitt erased a 10-point deficit to take the lead late behind an 11-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Nate Yarnell to Gavin Bartholomew with 7:05 to play and Ben Sauls' 47-yard field goal with 1:36 left.

Yarnell finished with 350 yards passing while filling in for injured starter Eli Holstein, but his 55th and last pass attempt fell into the arms of Clemson's Khalil Barnes just in front of the goal line as time expired.

“He made some great throws,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said of Yarnell. “I don’t like the eight sacks. Is that on him? Is that on the O-line?”

Either way, the Panthers will have to figure it out soon if they want to finish their season on a high note. Pitt has dropped three straight since a 7-0 start, though a moment to add a signature win to a promising season seemed at hand when running back Desmond Reid (176 total yards) helped put the Panthers in position late.

Pitt however, gave Klubnik and the Tigers a little too much time.

“We never flinched,” Klubnik said. “You know (time is running out but) we knew what we could do. We just had to go do it.”

Takeaways Clemson: The Tigers are not the juggernaut they were at the start of the decade and Klubnik's season will likely not end with him becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist, but he provided a signature moment that helped Clemson survive on a day the Tigers had managed all of 8 yards on the ground until their last offensive snap.

Pitt: The Panthers played with passion if not precision. It cost them in the end. Pitt was penalized 13 times for 100 yards. The most damaging flags came early in the fourth quarter when a first-and-goal from inside the Clemson 5 turned into a short field goal by Sauls after illegal formation, delay of game and false start penalties.

Off target? Swinney admitted he has no idea what “targeting” is anymore after linebacker Sammy Brown was ejected for the infraction in the second quarter following a high hit on Yarnell.

“I might have to go to a seminar in the offseason, ‘Targeting Anonymous,’” Swinney said. “I don't know what (targeting) is. I really don't. I have no idea.”

Poll implications Don't expect the Tigers to move up too much in either the AP Top 25 or the CFP ranking (they were 20th this week) after struggling to do much of anything over the final 30 minutes against Pitt.

Up next Clemson: hosts The Citadel next Saturday.

Pitt: travels to No. 22 Louisville next Saturday.

How To Watch

How can I watch Clemson Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Panthers?
  • TV Channel: Tigers at Panthers 2021 College Football, week 12, is broadcasted on ESPN.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Panthers: 31.1%
Tigers: 68.9%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

CLEM TD 1st Period 7:20 Antonio Williams 14 Yd pass from Cade Klubnik (Nolan Hauser Kick)
PITT TD 1st Period 5:22 Daniel Carter 2 Yd Run (Ben Sauls Kick)
CLEM TD 2nd Period 11:18 Antonio Williams 28 Yd pass from Cade Klubnik (Nolan Hauser Kick)
CLEM FG 2nd Period 0:03 Nolan Hauser 51 Yd Field Goal
PITT FG 4th Period 10:55 Ben Sauls 35 Yd Field Goal
PITT TD 4th Period 7:05 Gavin Bartholomew 8 Yd pass from Nate Yarnell (Ben Sauls Kick)
PITT FG 4th Period 1:36 Ben Sauls 47 Yd Field Goal
CLEM TD 4th Period 1:16 Cade Klubnik 50 Yd Run (Nolan Hauser Kick)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/228.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCLEM https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/221.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPITT
21 1st Downs 27
5-15 3rd down efficiency 6-18
0-1 4th down efficiency 1-2
346 Total Yards 438
288 Passing 350
27/43 Comp/Att 34/54
6.7 Yards per pass 6.5
58 Rushing 88
27 Rushing Attempts 33
2.1 Yards per rush 2.7
6-57 Penalties 13-100
1 Turnovers 2
1 Fumbles lost 1
0 Interceptions thrown 1
25:54 Possession 34:06

Game Information

Acrisure Stadium

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Attendance: 58,667 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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