Dangerous Clemson offense emerges out of App State performance

Cade Klubnik is set to lead a more dangerous offense going forward, after a dominant performance against App State.

Ryan Kantor - Contributor - Monday, September 09 2024

Since QB Trevor Lawrence, RB Travis Etienne, and WRs Cornell Powell and Amari Rodgers departed following the 2020 season, the Clemson Tigers have been searching for explosive plays. Following the 3-point performance vs. Georgia, the search became even more desperate. On Saturday against Appalachian State, the game started with two plays that netted -1 yard. On third-and-long, the offensive breakout began.

Cade Klubnik delivered a 76-yard TD strike that hit true freshman Bryant Wesco perfectly in stride. He underthrew several opportunities at explosive downfield passes against Georgia but was near-perfect against Appalachian State.

#CFB's Fastest Five Players Of Week 2:

1. @ClemsonFB's Bryant Wesco Jr.

WR, 76-yard 👉🏠 21.9 MPH 🤯@Bryantwesco19 #Clemson #GoTigers pic.twitter.com/tR87Fjp516
— Reel Analytics (@RAanalytics) September 9, 2024

On their very next drive, Klubnik hit Wesco in stride again, this time for 51 yards just short of the end zone. Klubnik ran it in himself. With that, it seemed the offense, and perhaps the program had regained their confidence. With the downfield passing now unlocked, everything else became easier too. On the third drive, Phil Mafah broke off an 83-yard TD run. Up 21-0, the rout was on.

Mafah ran for 118 yards while his primary backup, Jay Haynes, also looked excellent running for 49 yards on just 5 carries. While both were great, it was the passing game that everyone delighted in seeing come to life. On the Tigers’ fourth drive, a 41-yard pass to TE Jake Briningstool delivered another TD.

It wasn’t until the Tigers' fifth drive that Klubnik finally made his first mistake. A beautiful flea-flicker play allowed Antonio Williams to get open in the end-zone, but Klubnik left the pass short (reminiscent of the Georgia game). A great play by Williams earned a pass interference, but a better pass would have resulted in a touchdown (Klubnik noted that it slipped). On the very next play, Klubnik redeemed himself with a perfect throw to Williams for a 29-yard TD on a post route.

Klubnik’s breakout performance continued with another TD run, a 33-yard TD pass over the middle to freshman T.J. Moore, and a 17-yard TD pass to Jake Briningstool. Klubnik started 11/11 and finished the game 24/26 with 378 yards, five passing TDs, and two rushing TDs. Clemson scored 35 points in the first quarter (a school record) and entered halftime up 56-13. They scored a touchdown on every first half possession. From there, backups gained valuable experience, and the Tigers salted away a 66-20 victory.

If the Tigers’ performance against Georgia was their C-game, their performance against Appalachian State was their A-game. Would they have beaten the Bulldogs playing at this level? Maybe not, but it certainly would have been a battle decided in the fourth quarter. If this is the inflection point in Clemson’s offensive production, the under-utilization of Wesco and TJ Moore vs. Georgia will be remembered much like the decision to start Cole Stoudt over Deshaun Watson at Georgia and at Florida State in 2014.

I pushed back against some who felt Appalachian State seriously threatened Clemson, but that doesn’t mean they are a push-over. They’re not an FCS school. Rather they’re one of the better teams in the Sun Belt. A blowout win of this nature over the Mountaineers is impressive. I was disappointed to see Appalachian State lose their composure at a few points in the game though. Two personal foul calls plus a nasty block that could have injured Peter Woods were low-lights for an Appalachian State team that should still do well in their conference.

Looking forward, the schedule looks much more manageable than it did before the start of the season. NC State was blown out by Tennessee and does not appear as threatening as they did before the season. Florida State is 0-2, and Virginia Tech is 1-1 with a loss to Vanderbilt. Clemson may not play another ranked opponent until November when Louisville – who has never beaten Clemson – comes to Death Valley. 11-1 is not unrealistic. Beating Miami in a potential ACC Championship matchup or a team like Texas in a potential playoff game is another story, but even thinking about that after the poor Week 1 showing is a pleasure.

Clemson will likely continue to start Wesco and lean on Moore to attack downfield. This should open things up for Briningstool and Williams in the intermediate game and prevent defenses from loading up on Mafah and Haynes in the running game, making Clemson far more dangerous.

It has been four years since Clemson’s offense looked like this. Sure, it was only a Sun Belt team, but perfect throws to capable wide receivers are easy to spot regardless of opponent. Clemson significantly elevated their performance on Saturday and showed they are still a playoff contender.