ACC Hits Syracuse With $25K Fine After Clemson Game Drama

Clemson’s 34-21 loss to Syracuse on Saturday left the Tigers sitting at 1-3, with more questions than answers.

Klubnik finished with 363 yards and three touchdowns through the air, but the offense’s production still didn’t translate into a win.

And after the game, Klubnik expressed frustration with how Syracuse slowed Clemson’s tempo.

The junior completed 37 of 60 passes, leading an attack that racked up 503 yards of offense, yet Clemson spent much of the game chasing the Orange after a sluggish start.

Klubnik pointed to a different kind of obstacle when explaining why the Tigers struggled to sustain momentum.

Cade Klubnik Frustrated With Momentum Stalls

“We were playing with tempo … then they’d have an injury or something like that when we really got going,” Klubnik said after the game.

“That’s up to them if they wanna be honest about that, but that was definitely tough for us to really get in a rhythm.”

The comment seemed to imply that Syracuse players may have been going down strategically to disrupt Clemson’s no-huddle pace.

Though Klubnik tempered his words by adding that he hoped the Orange “came out really healthy,” the undertone was hard to miss.

Meanwhile, head coach Dabo Swinney spent much of the afternoon venting at the officials.

For most of the day, he looked angrier at referees than at his own players and coaches, a telling sign of where his frustration was directed.

But when asked afterward about Klubnik’s postgame comments, Swinney brushed them aside, suggesting that it was a ridiculous thing to complain about.