Former Westlake quarterback Cade Klubnik helped the Clemson Tigers end a disappointing season by their standards on a high note, orchestrating a game-winning drive against Kentucky on Friday in the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl.
Clemson scored a touchdown with 0:17 left to win the game 38-35, and Klubnik went 8-for-8 for 71 yards on the final drive before handing it to Phil Mafah for a 3-yard touchdown run. Klubnik finished the game 30 of 41 passing for 264 yards with an interception.
Klubnik bounced back after a mistake to help keep the final drive alive. Klubnik was flagged for intentional grounding, turning a second-and-3 into third-and-18. On the next play, however, Klubnik fired a pass to Troy Stellato for 16 yards to bring up a fourth-and-2 play that Mafah converted with a 5-yard run.
That helped set up Klubnik’s final two completions of the game, an 11-yard pass to Antonio Williams and a 15-yarder to Jake Briningstool to get the Tigers to Kentucky’s 3-yard line. Mafah then gave the Tigers a lead with his fourth touchdown run of the game, tying a Gator Bowl record.
The Tigers finished 4-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play but picked up their ninth win of the season overall to end the year 9-4. Going into the Gator Bowl, Klubnik had thrown for 2,580 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. This season was his first as the full-time starting quarterback but played in 10 games during his freshman year.