CLEMSON -- Clemson football quarterback Cade Klubnik expressed frustration after the Tigers' 34-21 loss to Syracuse on Sept. 20.
Clemson (1-3, 0-2 ACC) had 503 yards of offense but scored only three times on 13 drives against the Orange (3-1, 1-0). Klubnik said the Tigers were playing with tempo throughout the game, even before trailing 24-14 at halftime, but was bothered by the number of times Syracuse defensive players went down with injuries on Clemson possessions.
"Props to them, they stopped us on some third downs in certain times, then they have an injury or something like that when we really got going," said Klubnik, who used air quotes when he said injury, indicating he doesn't believe players were actually hurt. "That's up to them if they want to be honest about that."
College football cracked down on fake injuries this season. Teams used to encourage players to fake an injury to stop high-tempo offenses or teams with momentum, and the same move was done on offense to stop the game clock and get a pseudo extra timeout.
If a player presents themselves as injured after officials have spotted the ball this season, that player's team will be charged a timeout or a delay of game penalty if it has no timeouts left. The player must also sit out at least one play, regardless of whether a timeout has been assessed or not, and cannot return unless they receive approval from the team's medical personnel.
Some of Syracuse's injuries came before the ball was spotted for Clemson's next play, which didn't charge the Orange a timeout. Klubnik felt those delays derailed the offense's momentum.
"I saw Cade get frustrated, but we can't get frustrated with that. We just got to play," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said.
It's hard to tell if those stoppages would have changed the outcome of the game as Clemson later trailed 34-14 in the third quarter, but Klubnik's irritation is a reflection of the Tigers' offensive woes.
MORE: Is Dabo Swinney on the hot seat? No, but it's been an uncomfortable four weeks at Clemson
Clemson is averaging 19.8 points, a steep regression from 34.7 in 2024. The Tigers had only 21 points against Syracuse despite Klubnik throwing for 363 yards and three touchdowns on 60 attempts.
"I feel like we came out really healthy, and hopefully, they did too," Klubnik said. "I love playing with tempo, and I feel like we did it really well, especially in the fourth quarter, but even in the first and second. Just got to continue to do that and find ways to overcome a delay or whatever it is."
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00