App State final thoughts: The sky showed it was to be a Clemson kind of night

Cade Klubnik ran two touchdowns in during the win, to go with five touchdown passes.

David Hood - Senior Writer - Monday, September 09 2024

CLEMSON – The late summer sun began to set behind the WestZone, the high sky turning hues of orange and then purple that suggested it would be a Clemson kind of night. As the sky turned black and a slight breeze cooled the stadium, the opening kickoff sailed into the night. And the rout was on.

Quarterback Cade Klubnik walked into the interview room last Wednesday, and he didn’t look like a player with the weight of an entire program on his shoulders. He was smiling, happy, and said he knows he can play better and expected to play better.

He also said he understands that he doesn’t have to go out and win the game or a championship, he simply has to manage the offense and get the ball to playmakers. He did that and more, hitting freshman wide receiver Bryant Wesco in stride on a beautiful 76-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch that, for a moment, stood as the longest play from scrimmage for the Tigers since 2020.

Running back Phil Mafah did that one better two drives later, taking a middle handoff, bouncing off a defender and streaking 83 yards for a touchdown. He clocked in at a little over 20 MPH on the play, showing that he has enough speed to break a long one.

The offense was good – the offensive line held up, the running backs ran hard, tight end Jake Briningstool made big plays and scored twice – but the night belonged to Klubnik and his receivers. He hit Antonio Williams on a perfect strike, and freshman T.J. Moore weaved his way through the Appalachian State zone defense for a touchdown.

What’s next for that group? The open date, and then a home game against NC State. The Wolfpack are reeling after Western Carolina took them to the wire in the opener and Tennessee dominated them in Charlotte. As one NC State friend who went texted, the talent gap was vast between the two programs.

For Klubnik and the offense, they don’t need to score 66 points (even though 66 on Dave Doeren would be satisfying for Clemson players and fans). However, the offense showed more motions and shifts against Appalachian St., and Klubnik found the middle of the field. If the offense keeps up the aggression and intensity, it will be hard to defend. If it goes back into its shell, the games will look much like the last two seasons.

Our own Brandon Rink re-watched the broadcast and noted that the Tigers did indeed treat the Mountaineers as dangerous, and opened the playbook to an extent we haven’t seen to date. Yes, there is a talent differential between App St. and Georgia, but the Tigers should be more talented than any team left on the regular season schedule. And head coach Dabo Swinney accomplished the most important job he had – convincing his team they were still very good after the Georgia loss.

What else caught my eye? It was good to see so many younger players earn snaps – 105 is the unofficial total number of players that earned playing time. A total of 56 players made a tackle, led by Sammy Brown’s nine tackles. Backup quarterback Christopher Vizzina was given time with some of the starting receivers and finished 7-of-11 for 78 yards, and he was trusted with a run on 4th-and-goal from the five-yard-line and scored easily.

And not to be lost in all of this – freshman Nolan Hauser had one kick bounce off the uprights, but otherwise his kicks have been uneventful through ten kicks. Even extra points were an adventure a year ago, and Hauser has been solid. TigerNet’s photographer said that the ball that bounced off the uprights bounced so hard he tried to shield his camera, and it almost broke his fingers.

I wrote earlier this week that the big play had disappeared from Clemson’s offense – the Tigers had just two plays all last season that covered 50 or more yards – and that was eclipsed six minutes into the game. In all, the Tigers had 17 plays that were considered big plays (15+ yard passes; 10+ yard runs) and they covered a whopping 510 yards.

The Tigers had ten big passing plays for 334 yards and seven big rushing plays for 176 yards.

Explosion was no longer a fairytale; it was reality.

But NC State will come to town in two weeks, and the proof that things have changed will come with this offense stringing good games together.