Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has struggled mightily in today’s game against Syracuse and trail by double digits in the third quarter. So head coach Dabo Swinney is making a change.
After throwing an interception in the third quarter – his second turnover of the game – Swinney decided to pull the plug on Uiagalelei’s outing. Five-star freshman Cade Klubnik started warming up before being sent into the lineup.
It might be a more surprising move if Klubnik weren’t one of the nation’s most highly-touted quarterbacks since… Uiagalelei himself. 247Sports rated the Texas-born freshman as the No. 6 overall prospect in the country and the No. 1 quarterback in his class.
The very first pass of Klubnik’s day wasn’t bad either. It was an 18-yard completion to Jordan Ngata. Some good running from Will Shipley has the Syracuse in a position to really cut into their 11-point deficit.
BREAKING: True freshman 5⭐️ QB Cade Klubnik has entered the game for Clemson with the Tigers trailing Syracuse 21-10 in the 3rd quarter pic.twitter.com/SIf4CZY9s7
— 247Sports (@247Sports) October 22, 2022
The Clemson Tiger trail the Syracuse Orange 21-10 late in the third quarter. A loss would make qualifying for the College Football Playoff an extremely difficult proposition unless they win all of their remaining games.
Losing this game to the Orange would take the ACC title race out of their hands though. Even if they did win out, Syracuse would have to lose at least two games to take their spot in the ACC Championship Game.
Depending on how Klubnik plays, this game could wind up being a turning point in their season – and maybe DJ Uiagalelei’s college football career.
The game is being played on ABC.