Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has never been shy about demanding excellence, and after Saturday’s 17-10 loss to LSU, he aimed his fire directly at his quarterback and offensive coordinator.
“The biggest issue in that game was our best player didn’t play well,” Swinney said Tuesday. “If two [Klubnik] ain’t a dude, we don’t win. Dudes gotta be dudes. This is big boy football.”
While Swinney praised his defense for looking like “a Clemson defense is supposed to look,” he didn’t hold back on the offense. He said coordinator Garrett Riley needed to “do a better job helping” Klubnik handle LSU’s pressure and blasted the unit’s missed chances.
“We should’ve been up 17-3. Period,” Swinney snapped. “Instead, we dropped slants, missed open touchdowns, and didn’t make the routine plays. Against LSU, that’s death.”
It was one of Swinney’s rawest post-loss press conferences, a blend of frustration, accountability, and defiance.
“Say we suck again. Say Cade ain’t it. Say the coaches ain’t it,” he said. “That’s fine. I got confirmation of what this team is and what it’s going to be.”
Cade’s Honest Response
Less than 24 hours later, Cade Klubnik faced the cameras himself — and didn’t dodge the criticism.
“I had a bad game and didn’t play like myself,” Klubnik admitted Wednesday. “Coach put the ball in my hands to take over in the second half, and I didn’t get the job done. That’s really what it comes down to.”
The junior quarterback described the frustration he felt in the aftermath.
“I was pissed off after the game. Just upset at myself,” he said. “I know it’s a team sport, but I felt like I let some guys down. I own my mistakes.”
Still, Klubnik said he knows his influence matters, and moving on with energy is key.
“In the position that I am, everybody’s looking to me,” he said. “If I show up defeated, the whole team feels it. So I’ve got to attack every day with energy and enthusiasm.”
Defending His Coordinator
Where Swinney pushed Riley to be better, Klubnik defended his offensive coordinator.
“I don’t blame Coach Riley at all,” Klubnik said. “I think he’s one of the best in the country, and I love the way he called the game. In my mind, Coach put the ball in my hands in the second half, and I didn’t get it done.”
He admitted his biggest problem wasn’t LSU’s defense but his own decision-making.
“Just bad eyes,” Klubnik explained. “I was worried too much about what they were doing instead of just playing our fundamentals. I overcomplicated things. The fix is simple: do the routine things routinely.”
A Lesson in Accountability
What emerged over 48 hours wasn’t a rift, but a public lesson in Clemson’s culture: coaches challenge, players respond.
Swinney laid down the gauntlet.
“When our dudes play like dudes, we win,” he said. “Cade will respond. Garrett will respond. And this team? We’re going to be a great football team.”
Klubnik, in turn, embraced the challenge.
“It’s a challenge,” he said. “Chin it, learn from it, move on. That’s it.”
The Turning Point?
Clemson’s season may ultimately be defined not by the LSU loss itself, but by how Swinney and Klubnik handled the fallout.
One day, a coach unloaded fire: demanding his quarterback rise to the moment and his coordinator better prepare him. The next, that quarterback owned it all, vowed to be better, and stood up for his playcaller.
If the Tigers do bounce back, this two-day exchange — Swinney’s blunt callout and Klubnik’s humble response — might be remembered as the turning point.