Dabo Swinney says Clemson will have to 'see how it goes' at quarterback

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has a big decision to make when it comes to quarterback for Week 11. With the Tigers trailing 14-0 against Notre Dame on Saturday, Swinney turned to true freshman Cade Klubnik in place of starter DJ Uiagalelei.

It wasn’t the first time this season that Swinney has done so, as he also looked to Klubnik for a spark during the previous game against Syracuse. However, while the freshman led them on a 17-point comeback win in that one, it was a much different story against the Fighting Irish.

Klubnik immediately threw an interception on his first and only pass attempt of the game, setting up Notre Dame to score on the ensuing drive and take a 21-0 lead. Uiagalelei took back over on Clemson’s next drive, and the Tigers went on to lose their first game of the year, 35-14.

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Asked postgame about his plan for the quarterbacks moving forward, Dabo Swinney seemed to indicate he has yet to make a decision on who will start in Week 11.

“Just evaluate everything,” he said. “I thought DJ finished well, which is good to see. I hate that the play happened to Cade, but we’ll see how it goes. Get back to work and continue to evaluate it every day. It’s certainly not all DJ who made a bad play. Cade made a bad play and we were just — it was a lot more than just the quarterback out there tonight. It’s just that simple.

“I don’t care how your quarterback plays. If you’re not the most physical team, you don’t deserve to win. We didn’t deserve it tonight.”

Uiagalelei finished out Saturday 27-of-39 passing for 191 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He has now thrown for three interceptions to just one touchdown over the past two games, making the decision between he and Klubnik that much closer heading into next week.

The No. 1 quarterback in the 2022 class according to On3 Consensus, Klubnik has appeared in six games this season going 9-for-20 passing for 85 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Clemson is scheduled to kick off against Louisville at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.