Despite the benching of quarterback DJ Uiagalelei in favor of true freshman Cade Klubnik, the No. 5 Clemson Tigers remained undefeated with a 27-21win over the No. 14 Syracuse Orange at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, on Saturday.
With Uiagalelei at the controls, Clemson turned the ball over four times and trailed 21-10 through three quarters of play, which sparked the quarterback change.
Uiagalelei was directly responsible for three of those turnovers, including one that put Syracuse firmly in control of the game in the second quarter.
In addition to throwing a pair of interceptions, Uiagalelei fumbled the ball while the Tigers were going in for a score, and Syracuse defensive back Ja'Had Carter returned it 90 yards for a touchdown:
ACC Football @ACCFootballSyracuse SCOOP. AND. SCORE!!! <a href="">@CuseFootball</a> | <a href="">#ACCFootball</a> <br><br>📺: ABC <a href="">
That put the Orange ahead 14-7 and represented a 14-point swing, and the Tigers went into the locker room at halftime trailing 21-10.
When Clemson couldn't close the gap in the third quarter and Uiagalelei threw his second interception of the day, head coach Dabo Swinney decided to replace him with Klubnik, who was rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2022 recruiting class.
Amid his struggles and after getting benched, Uiagalelei was the subject of a ton of criticism from observers on social media:
Sam Wood @therealwood24DJ Uiagalelei is absolutely abysmal and there's no argument against it.
Austin Rentzel @FearTheRentzelDJ Uiagalelei is not good
Screwthewilpons @screwthewilponsDJ Uiagalelei is the worst quarterback I have ever seen
Brian Stone @WatchTheStonePeople were so enamored with Uiagalelei’s measurables that no one stopped to ask if he could actually play QB.
Riley @Ri_S_OBDJ Uiagalelei can’t even hand the ball off correctly ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Johnny Nevada @Johnnyray32DJ Uiagalelei has to be the worst QB I’ve ever seen at a top tier program like Clemson
Air Raid | Buffalo Bills @TheBillsGuysI will laugh very hard at anyone who drafts DJ Uiagalelei in the first two days of the draft.
BYUFanGuy @BYUFanGuyDeath, Taxes, and DJ Uiagalelei playing like absolute trash and holding back an otherwise excellent <a href="">@ClemsonFB</a> team. What’s new? <a href="">#cfp</a> <a href="">#CollegeFootball</a>
Rafikis Sports Page @RafikiBurnerI think DJ Uiagalelei wants to lose this game😂
David Lafrenière @realdavidgoldWhat DJ Uiagalelei's giving out for Halloween <a href="">
Klubnik didn't do anything spectacular with 19 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions on 2-of-4 passing, but he seemed to give the Tigers new life when they needed it most, and he came through with a big two-point conversion after Clemson's go-ahead touchdown by running back Will Shipley.
From the time Klubnik took over for Uiagalelei through the end of the game, the Tigers scored 17 unanswered points, which allowed them to hand the Orange their first loss of the season.
Now, the question becomes whether Swinney will stick with Klubnik going forward or go back to Uiagalelei in the next game despite how poorly he played against Syracuse.
During his postgame interview with ABC, Swinney insisted that Uiagalelei is "our guy" and "our quarterback," but he will have some time to make a final decision, as Clemson is on the bye next week before returning for a road game against Notre Dame on Nov. 5.
