NCAAF

Clemson Tigers at Texas Longhorns

· College Football Playoff First Round Presented by Allstate
10-4, 4-1 Away
Final
24 - 38
12-2, 7-1 Home

Klubnik not enough to carry Clemson over Texas in homecoming playoff loss

Highlight: Texas crushes Clemson to advance in CFP

Klubnik, Clemson's junior quarterback from Austin, passed for 336 yards — the most by a Texas opponent this season — and three touchdowns. He directed a second-half comeback that gave No. 12 seeded Clemson a chance to overtake No. 5 Texas after falling behind by 18 at halftime.

But the Tigers fell short, losing the College Football Playoff game 38-24.

“I’m hurting a lot,” Klubnik said. “It was fun to come home, but it was not a vacation. It was time to come win a football game, and we didn’t do that.”

Klubnik led the Tigers (10-4) on a four-play, 55-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter, the final 25 on a pass to running back Jarvis Green that left Clemson trailing 31-17.

He directed a 64-yard touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter. His 7-yard pass to T.J. Moore, on fourth-and-6 left Texas ahead by just a touchdown, 31-24.

“We put ourselves in a position to win,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “That young man (Klubnik) has grown into an amazing leader. You’re never out of a game with him.”

Texas (12-2) made Klubnik's job a lot tougher when Jaydon Blue raced 77 yards for a touchdown on the Longhorns' first possession after Moore scored.

Nevertheless, Klubnik led Clemson 74 yards to the Texas 1, connecting with Moore three times, including completions covering 29 and 30 yards.

But Klubnik was stopped by Texas safety Michael Taaffe on third down and Keith Adams was stuffed on fourth by Bill Norton and Barryn Sorrell.

Clemson's comeback attempt was over when Klubnik's pass on fourth down was broken up by Taaffe at the Longhorns' 25 with 1:16 left.

Taaffe and Klubnik were teammates at Westlake High School when they won the 2020 Texas state high school championship together. The quarterback they beat that day? Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.

That history and rivalry added some extra spice to Klubnik's trip home.

Another Westlake teammate, Texas defensive end Ethan Burke, sacked Klubnik in the first half Saturday.

Earlier in the week, Taaffe said Klubnik was his “best friend” on the Westlake team when they won that state championship.

“We were definitely sharing words back and forth, that was fun,” Taaffe said. “He’s a great guy, he had a great game.”

How To Watch

How can I watch Clemson Tigers vs. Texas Longhorns?
  • TV Channel: Tigers at Longhorns 2021 College Football, week 1, is broadcasted on TNT.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Scoring Summary

CLEM TD 1st Period 8:14 Antonio Williams 22 Yd pass from Cade Klubnik (Nolan Hauser Kick)
TEX TD 1st Period 2:04 Quintrevion Wisner 3 Yd Run (Bert Auburn Kick)
TEX TD 2nd Period 12:49 Jaydon Blue 38 Yd Run (Bert Auburn Kick)
TEX TD 2nd Period 7:26 Quintrevion Wisner 16 Yd Run (Bert Auburn Kick)
CLEM FG 2nd Period 1:33 Nolan Hauser 32 Yd Field Goal
TEX TD 2nd Period 0:28 Gunnar Helm 19 Yd pass from Quinn Ewers (Bert Auburn Kick)
TEX FG 3rd Period 8:10 Bert Auburn 22 Yd Field Goal
CLEM TD 3rd Period 3:29 Jarvis Green 25 Yd pass from Cade Klubnik (Nolan Hauser Kick)
CLEM TD 4th Period 11:43 T.J. Moore 7 Yd pass from Cade Klubnik (Nolan Hauser Kick)
TEX TD 4th Period 10:48 Jaydon Blue 77 Yd Run (Bert Auburn 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/500/251.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTEX
20 1st Downs 26
3-12 3rd down efficiency 6-12
1-3 4th down efficiency 1-4
412 Total Yards 494
336 Passing 202
26/43 Comp/Att 17/24
7.8 Yards per pass 8.4
76 Rushing 292
24 Rushing Attempts 48
3.2 Yards per rush 6.1
5-65 Penalties 2-10
1 Turnovers 1
0 Fumbles lost 0
1 Interceptions thrown 1
27:03 Possession 32:57

Game Information

DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium

Location: Austin, TX
Attendance: 101,150 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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