“Klubnik’s 5 touchdowns lead Clemson past Stanford”

CLEMSON – Stanford gave No. 17 Clemson all it could handle for nearly three quarters Saturday night.

Then Wade Woodaz made an athletic interception and set up a touchdown pass from Cade Klubnik to Cole Turner, giving the Tigers a 40-14 win at Memorial Stadium.

The victory gave head coach Dabo Swinney his 100th victory in Death Valley. Swinney is now 100-9 all-time at Frank Howard Field.

Klubnik threw for 255 yards and ran for another 48 yards, accounting for five touchdowns. He ran 34 yards for a score, threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Briningstool, a 43-yard pass to Turner, a 34-yard TD to wide receiver Bryant Wesco and a 2-yard pass on Olson Pat Henry.

The Cardinals (2-2, 1-1 ACC) trailed just 20-7 late in the third quarter when the football was at their own 39. However, Woodaz changed the flow of the game when the linebacker jumped up the field in the middle of the play and grabbed Daniels’ pass out of the air.

Two plays later, Klubnik found Turner for a 43-yard score that gave Clemson a 27-7 lead with 1:09 left in the third quarter.

The Tigers (3-1, 2-0 ACC) led 17-7 at halftime, although Stanford had three more total yards (230-227). The Cardinals offense controlled the football for much of the half, doubling Clemson in possession.

Daniels had 87 yards on 11 carries before getting injured on a fourth down play in the fourth quarter. Stanford was 0-3 on fourth downs.

Although Clemson’s defense gave up yards, it didn’t give up points in crucial moments. Clemson got a fourth-down stop on the Cardinals’ first possession, and then cornerback Avieon Terrell intercepted a pass from Daniels in the end zone, thwarting a scoring opportunity for Stanford.

On the Cardinal’s third possession, Jeadyn Lukus intercepted a pass from Daniels at the Clemson 7-yard line to once again stop a potential scoring threat. The Tigers got a fourth down stop at their own 10-yard line, capping a seven-play, 65-yard drive by Stanford that yielded no points on its first possession of the second half.

From there, the Clemson defense took the lead as it held the Cardinal to 65 yards rushing in the second half before the second and third teamers came into play and allowed a late touchdown.

The defense’s efforts allowed Klubnik and the offense to gain momentum as the Tigers quickly scored 20 points on Klubnik’s TD passes to Turner, Wesco and Pat-Henry.

Clemson heads to Tallahassee, Florida next week to take on DJ Uiagalelei and reigning ACC champion Florida State.