CLEMSON, S.C. — DJ Uiagalelei tapped backup Cade Klubnik on the helmet and gave him a final piece of advice before the freshman headed to the field with No. 5 Clemson down 21-10 in the third quarter.
“You’re ready for this,” Uiagalelei said.
Clemson’s starter was right. Klubnik, the five-star newcomer, led the fifth-ranked Tigers to two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 27-21 win over No. 14 Syracuse on Saturday.
Will Shipley scored twice on the ground, including the go-ahead 50-yard TD run with less than 12 minutes to go. Shipley also had a career-high 172 yards rushing.
Clemson (8-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) r allied from 14-points down in the first half for its 14th straight win overall, an ACC-record setting 38th straight home victory, and maintained control of the ACC Atlantic Division as the league’s last unbeaten.
And it likely wouldn’t have happened without Klubnik’s steady hand in the final 20 minutes.
Uiagalelei had his worst game of the season with two interceptions — he had two in the first seven games — and a fumble that Syracuse (6-1, 3-1) returned for a 90-yard scoop and score as the Tigers fell behind 21-7.
Klubnik’s spark was immediate. He led a 15-play, 80-yard drive finished by Phil Mafah’s 1-yard bull rush.
After a Syracuse punt, Klubnik opened the next series with an 11-yard run before Shipley’s game winner to go up 22-21 that sent him into the stands with his own Lambeau Leap. The Tigers went for two as Klubnik escaped a defender in the backfield, rolled right and found Joseph Ngata for the conversion.
Klubnik punched the air and Death Valley erupted in a frenzy.
“Just excited to get my moment,” Klubnik said. “It was awesome — such a great environment today.”
Will there be more ahead this year? Perhaps not.
“As far as DJ, DJ’s our starter, DJ’s our leader,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Nothing’s changed there.”
Klubnik’s chance came because the Orange pressured Uiagalelei into mistakes. Safety Ja’Had Carter had Syracuse’s first interception, then picked up the loose ball Uiagalelei dropped and ran uncontested for a score.
When Uiagalelei threw his second pick on an off-target pass, Swinney made the change.
Uiagalelei understood, telling offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter he just wanted to win.
“It was a bad day,” Uiagalelei said. “There were mistakes I made, things I wish I had back.”
Clemson held Syracuse to 119 yards and no points the final two quarters. Shrader took Syracuse to the Clemson 30 with 32 seconds left but was picked off by safety R.J. Mickens on his fnal throw.
Shrader passed for a touchdown and rushed for another. He finished 18 of 26 passing for 167 yards.
“This is the first time we’ve tasted defeat and I want the taste out of my mouth and be back on the right side of it,” Syracuse coach Dino Babers said.
Klubnik’s performance was eerily similar to Clemson’s last close call at home against Syracuse in 2018 when Chase Brice — he of the Appalachian State Hail Mary win this season — came in for injured starter Trevor Lawrence and led a 94-yard fourth-quarter scoring drive in the final minute for a 27-23 win.
NO. 2 OHIO STATE 54, IOWA 10
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) —C.J. Stroud overcame a slow start to throw four second-half touchdown passes and Ohio State’s defense took advantage of six Iowa turnovers to key the rout.
Tanner McCallister had two interceptions and Tommy Eichenberg had a pick-6 as Ohio State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) took advantage of an inept Iowa offense to consistently start drives with good field position.
Miyan Williams rushed for a first-half touchdown, and Stroud threw to Marvin Harrison, Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming and Mitch Rossi for second-half touchdowns.
Noah Ruggles contributed four field goals.
NO. 3 TENNESSEE 65, UT MARTIN 24
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tight end Princeton Fant ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead Tennessee over the FCS Skyhawks.
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker completed 18 of 24 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns. Jalin Hyatt caught seven passes for 174 yards and two scores for the Vols (7-0).
Dresser Winn threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns for UT Martin (4-3).
NO. 6 ALABAMA 30, NO. 24 MISSISSIPPI STATE 6
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Bryce Young passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns and Alabama’s defense continued its domination of Mississippi State.
The Crimson Tide (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from their first loss of the season, a 52-49 defeat to No. 3 Tennessee. Alabama defenders got a measure of redemption after giving up more points than any Alabama team since 1907.
Will Rogers and the Bulldogs (5-3, 3-3) couldn’t reach the end zone against Alabama until the final play. It was the first touchdown Mississippi State had managed against the Tide in three meetings under coach Mike Leach, getting outscored (120-15).
Rogers completed 30 of 60 passes for 231 yards. Jo’quavious Marks scored on a 1-yard run to end the game. Young completed 21 of 35 passes with a couple of long ones on scrambles, including a 31-yard TD to JoJo Earle.
LSU 45, NO. 7 MISSISSIPPI 20
BATON ROUGHE, La. (AP) — Jayden Daniels ran for three touchdowns and passed for two scores as LSU roared back from an early two-touchdown deficit to hand Mississippi its first loss this season.
The performance gave the dynamic Daniels the LSU record for touchdowns rushing by a quarterback in a season with nine. He finished with 258 yards passing and 121 yards rushing without a turnover.
Rebels running back Quinshon Judkins rushed for two TDs and helped Ole Miss to a 17-3 second-quarter lead.
LSU (6-2, 4-1 SEC) outscored Ole Miss (7-1, 3-1) 41-3 the remainder of the game and finished with 500 total yards to 404 for coach Lane Kiffin’s vaunted Mississippi offense.
NO. 8 TCU 38, NO. 17 KANSAS STATE 28
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Max Duggan threw for 280 yards with three touchdowns and Kendre Miller ran for 153 yards and two scores as TCU again rallied from a big early deficit to stay undefeated, beating Kansas State to take over sole possession of first place in the Big 12 Conference.
Duggan’s 55-yard strike to Quentin Johnston late in the third quarter put the Horned Frogs (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) ahead to stay.
The Frogs, with new coach Sonny Dykes, have won four consecutive games over ranked opponents. Three in a row was already a first in school history.
Kansas State (5-2, 3-1) had jumped out to a 28-10 lead when Will Howard threw for two touchdowns and ran for another after taking over for banged-up quarterback Adrian Martinez on its second drive. Deuce Vaughn’s 47-yard run for his first touchdown in five games capped the fourth consecutive TD drive for the K-State.
NO. 10 OREGON 45, NO. 9 UCLA 30
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Bo Nix threw for 283 yards and five touchdowns as Oregon handed UCLA its first loss of the season.
The win extended Oregon’s winning streak at Autzen Stadium to 23 games, matching a school record. The Ducks (6-1, 4-0 Pac-12) have won six straight since a season-opening loss to Georgia and are the lone remaining undefeated team in Pac-12 Conference play.
The loss snapped a nine-game overall winning streak for the Bruins, who have not won in Eugene since 2004. UCLA (6-1, 3-1) hasn’t defeated the Ducks since 2017.
Nix, a transfer from Auburn, has thrown for 17 touchdowns and rushed for eight this season. He completed 21 of 28 passes, eight to Troy Franklin for 132 yards and two scores.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns and Zach Charbonnet rushed for 151 yards and a score for the Bruins.
NO. 11 OKLAHOMA STATE 41, TEXAS 34
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Spencer Sanders passed for 391 yards and two touchdowns, including the 41-yard game-winner to Bryson Green with just over three minutes remaining as Oklahoma State bounced back from a double-overtime loss to TCU the previous week.
Green’s had five catches for a career-high 133 yards for Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1 Big 12).
The Oklahoma State defense intercepted Quin Ewers three times, two by Jason Taylor II, the other by Kendal Daniels in the final minute to end the Longhorns’ final threat.
Bijan Robinson ran for 140 yards and a touchdown and caught a 41-yard touchdown pass for Texas (5-3, 3-2). Ewers passed for 319 yards and two touchdowns.
NO. 13 WAKE FOREST 43, BOSTON COLLEGE 15
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Sam Hartman threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score as Wake Forest won its third straight.
All of Hartman’s touchdown throws — including two each to Taylor Morin and Jahmal Banks — were to receivers already in the end zone. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 313 yards for the Demon Deacons (6-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Phil Jurkovec threw for a touchdown and ran for another for Boston College (2-5, 1-4), which hasn’t defeated a top 25 opponent since 2018.
NO. 16 PENN STATE 45, MINNESOTA 17
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Sean Clifford threw four touchdown passes and Penn State’s defense forced seven punts in a win over Minnesota.
A week after the worst game of his six-year career, a smattering of boos rang out from the 107,000 fans clad all in white when Clifford was announced as the starting quarterback. By halftime, the Happy Valley crowd had changed its tone.
Clifford threw darts over the middle to tight ends Tyler Warren and Theo Johnson on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter to put Penn State (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) up for good. The rout was on when he lofted a deep ball to Parker Washington for a 35-yard score on Penn State’s first possession of the second half.
Nick Singleton added two touchdown runs and Mitchell Tinsley caught another TD pass for the Nittany Lions. Clifford was 23 for 31 for 295 yards.
Penn State hosts No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday.
The Golden Gophers (4-3, 1-3) lost their third straight, this one amid difficult circumstances. Starting quarterback Tanner Morgan was ruled out with a head injury, leaving the offense to freshman Athan Kaliakmanis who completed just 9 of 22 passes for 175 yards.
NO. 21 CINCINNATI 29, SMU 27
DALLAS (AP) — Ryan Coe kicked a school-record five field goals, including a season-long 52-yarder and Cincinnati broke up a two-point play in the closing minutes to hold on.
Charles McClelland and Ryan Montgomery scored on runs of 76 yards and 1 yard for the Bearcats (6-1, 3-0 American), who won their 19th in a row against against American Athletic Conference opponents.
Tyler Lavine scored on a 1-yard plunge with 1:57 to pull SMU (3-4, 1-2) within two, but Preston Stone’s 2-point conversion pass intended for Roderick Daniels Jr. fell incomplete.
Stone, a redshirt freshman, replaced starter Tanner Mordecai, who left the game and the field late in the third quarter with an apparent injury.
NO. 25 TULANE 38, MEMPHIS 28
NEW ORLEANS (AP) —Michael Pratt threw for a touchdown and ran for another and Tyjae Spears ran for 125 yards and another score as Tulane celebrated its first Top 25 ranking since 1998.
The Green Wave (7-1, 4-0 American Athletic) scored on three of their first four possessions and took a 35-0 lead into the second half before the Tigers rallied.
Seth Henigan had 257 of his 312 passing yards in the second half for the Tigers (4-4, 2-3), finishing with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Eddie Lewis caught two touchdown passes, finishing with three receptions for 94 yards.