Klubnik gains back confidence as Clemson rolls Appalachian State

Tonight was exactly what the doctor ordered. Clemson let out its frustrations on the Appalachian State 66-20 and gained plenty of confidence back.

The person bereft of confidence the most was quarterback Cade Klubnik after barely eclipsing 142 yards passing against Georgia. Well, tonight should do the trick. Klubnik threw for 378 yards on a near-perfect completion percentage of 92.3 for five touchdowns.

His favorite target was tight end Jake Briningstool, who caught seven passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns, but the biggest gainer was Bryant Wesco Jr. The freshman receiver caught two passes for 50-plus yards and scored a touchdown on one. Altogether, Wesco had three catches for 130 yards.

On defense, the Tigers held them to 20 points but gave up 304 yards of total offense. While that might not look great because of the obvious drop in compaction between last week and this week, the Mountaineers are one of the best Group of Five teams in the country and the predicted Sun Belt Conference champions. They held them to 58 yards in the first quarter while the offense gained 349, outscoring them 35-0. Sure, they let off the gas later, but not by much.

Clemson will move on to the next team on the schedule, NC State. The Wolfpack were humbled tonight at home by No. 14 Tennessee, 51-10, and might be banged up from it. With Clemson's dominant performance tonight and a bye week next Saturday, September 21 seems the perfect time to meet NC State.