Cade Klubnik offers revelation about Clemson's loss to LSU, but the QB must move on

Cade Klubnik was expected to be one of the top quarterbacks in college football in 2025. To be fair, the Clemson Tigers quarterback very well could still be a Heisman Trophy contender, but both he and his team need to bounce back from Week 1's loss to the LSU Tigers.

No. 4 Clemson lost to No. 9 LSU, 17-10, at home. The Bayou Bengals put the clamps on Klubnik and Clemson's offense in the second half. In fact, Clemson didn't score after halftime, and LSU forced a missed field goal, an interception from Klubnik, two punts and two turnovers on downs.

Clemson's Cade Klubnik struggled to move on from loss to LSU

On Wednesday, Klubnik, a senior from Austin, Texas, revealed that he had a hard time mentally getting past the loss to LSU.

“I was p-ssed off after the game,” Klubnik told the media (h/t On3). “I was upset. It took me a few days to really bounce back from it because of the way that I played."

The Clemson quarterback went on to say that he remembered how the Tigers ended up losing their 2024 season opener to Georgia — a 34-3 blowout that could have derailed their season. Clemson bounced back, though, and eventually won the ACC and made the College Football Playoff.

Cade Klubnik knows Clemson has to mentally bounce back

Mentally getting over the loss to LSU is integral for Klubnik and the Tigers if they want to accomplish the same type of bounce back in 2025. For him, that means leaning on experience but also leading from the front with how he approaches the next few weeks of football.

"That was just a really good reminder to me of my influence is very heavy, but I’ve gotta change my mindset too. I’ve got to attack every single day and attack every week. I think that that’s what I’ve gotta do and that’s what needs to be done," Klubnik said.

There's no use getting too far ahead in a college football season. There are plenty of big games left on Clemson's schedule, but for now, the most important one is the next one.

Now ranked No. 8 in the country, up next are the Troy Trojans of the Sun Belt. It should be an easy win for Clemson, but that depends on whether or not Klubnik and his team can put the LSU loss in the past.