Snap judgments as Clemson season ends with Orange Bowl loss to Tennessee

The Clemson offense moved the ball up and down the field Friday night against Tennessee, but when the Tigers needed a big play, time and time again they came up short.

Tennessee beat Clemson 31-14 Friday night in the Orange Bowl as Clemson’s season came to a disappointing end.

The Tigers finish the year 11-3 (8-1). Tennessee finishes 11-2 (6-2).

Clemson outgained Tennessee 484 to 375, but three missed field goals and a failed fake field goal attempt in the first half proved costly.

Clemson had 11 drives end in Tennessee territory and scored on only two of them.

“They did what they needed to do to win the game. … Both teams earned their way here tonight, and they earned the win on the field tonight. We did not,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said.

“The name of the game, a lot of missed opportunities, simple as that. First half, I think we had six scoring opportunities out of seven drives, and we got one field goal out of it.”

Here are some snap judgments from Friday’s game:

Cade Klubnik still growing as a QB

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik is only a freshman, and he played like a freshman at times Friday against Tennessee.

There were instances when Klubnik held onto the ball too long and the game seemed to be moving too fast for him. He finished 30 for 54 passing for 320 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

A big key for Klubnik for 2023 and beyond is he must be better about stepping up in the pocket. Too many times on Friday he bailed out of the pocket when nothing was immediately there.

“My man Cade, you can easily see how talented he is and what a great player he’s going to be. He made a lot of great, great plays, but he also had some just mistakes, simple as that,” Swinney said. “Just took some sacks on some hots, took a sack on a sprint out. These are all things he’ll learn from.”

Clemson offensive line didn’t help

While Klubnik made his share of mistakes, Clemson’s offensive line also struggled.

Tennessee sacked Klubnik four times and pressured him on other occasions. The Tigers rushed for only 3.6 yards per carry.

The right side of Clemson’s offensive line with Walker Parks and Blake Miller in particular struggled.

“They did a good job of disguising a lot of stuff,” offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said. “We knew they were going to do it, but they did a really good job of disguising some of their blitzes.”

Tigers defense came to play

Despite the Clemson offense not doing a lot to help the defense, Wes Goodwin’s unit kept Clemson in the game.

The Tigers held the nation’s top offense to only 375 total yards.

The Vols averaged 3.3 yards per carry and were 3-for-13 on third down.

Clemson had 8 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. led the way with 9 tackles, including 1.5 tackle for loss.

“I thought defensively they gave us a chance really most of the night,” Swinney said.