Reaction: Clemson D wanted to keep a zero v. FAU, FSU to be "heck of a game"

Cade Klubnik says there's a "heck of a game" coming versus Florida State this week.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Sun Sep 17 10:00:10 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - The game against Florida Atlantic got personal before it even started. While the Tigers were still in the locker room, the whole team for Florida Atlantic stood at mid-field on the Clemson paw, a perceived sign of disrespect that players such as true freshman defensive back Khalil Barnes took personally and motivated them to shut out the Owls.

“Obviously, we respect all of our opponents. But, they kind of made it personal then, and that’s just disrespect,” Barnes said. “We kind of came out there and, was, like, ‘Alright, we have to shut these guys out.’ We wanted to keep the zero on the scoreboard.”

They were not able to keep that zero on the scoreboard, however, with touchdowns by Florida Atlantic coming late in the fourth quarter, the second by a late trick play. While Clemson may have had backups and less experienced players in the game at the time, that is still not a play they wanted to give up.

“It was a solid game. We played solid, but we didn’t complete it,” Barnes said. “We gave up two touchdowns late we shouldn’t have given up. So, we’ll improve it, but it was a good game.”

Now that the Tigers have two wins under their belt, they are going into the game against No. 3 Florida State with more confidence. Further, the Seminoles had a rough game of their own against Boston College, showing that they do have some weaknesses Clemson can exploit in that matchup. The team as a whole is looking forward to this game, including true freshman receiver Tyler Brown, who scored two touchdowns versus the Owls.

“We’ve definitely got some momentum now. We’ve just got to keep things going, and we just got to … don’t let our highs get too high, don’t let our lows get too low, and just keeping working and practicing and do better next week,” Brown said. “We’re growing each and every day, day in and day out, and just seeing us grow gives us real confidence and (sophomore quarterback) Cade (Klubnik) playing some of his best games, just seeing him grow as a player and a person, it’s just amazing to see and we’re going to keep pushing for sure.”

Last season when the Tigers faced off against the Seminoles, Klubnik never got the chance to take the field since he was the backup. Now, he will get his first action against Clemson’s common ACC foe. The fact that they are a highly-ranked team should also help to get the Tigers back in contention of moving up nationally.

“Obviously, it’s going to be a heck of a game,” Klubnik said regarding the upcoming game against Florida State. “They’ve got a great team and, just going to enjoy this game for 24 hours and move onto the next, and I think, I thought we played a heck of a game today.”

Since their season opener, the Tigers have drastically improved. Still, there are some lingering questions since they have not been consistent for a full 60 minutes. Even though Klubnik had a solid game on paper, he did make some questionable second-half decisions and is fortunate that he did not have an interception. Thus, that is something he needs to continue to work on.

But what has definitely helped is that young true freshmen like cornerback Khalil Barnes are stepping up. In the absence of junior cornerback Andrew Mukuba, who has been inactive the past two games, Barnes has played a prominent role in the Tiger defense. Against the Owls, he had an interception and a forced fumble. While Barnes acknowledges the team is not perfect, they continue improving and growing daily.

“It was really important for us this week because Swinney just preaches, like, every week, to prove,” Barnes said. “If we had a great game this week and then we got out next week and step back, like, we can’t do that. This is the end of the first quarter of the season, the first three games … We’re not perfect yet, but we’re improving.”

The game against Florida State will take place on Saturday, September 23 (Noon / ABC). Clemson has not lost at home against the Seminoles since 2013, when the No. 5 Seminoles beat No. 3 Clemson 51-14.