This story has been updated from a previous version.
No. 5 Clemson narrowly avoided disaster at home vs. No. 14 Syracuse on Saturday, overcoming a 21-7 deficit to beat the Orange 27-21 in Death Valley.
The win extends the Tigers' home win streak to 38 games, giving them the largest such streak in ACC history. And it wouldn't have been possible had Dabo Swinney not benched starter DJ Uiagalelei in favor of backup Cabe Klubnik late in the third quarter.
Swinney's decision came after Uiagalelei threw his second interception of the day, when he overthrew his receiver to give Syracuse the ball at midfield in the third quarter. Following an Orange punt, it was Klubnik, not Uiagalelei, who took the field.
"A lot of adversity, but man our team showed they can win a lot of different ways," Swinney told ABC sideline reporter Molly McGrath after the game. "And today to come back, we changed quarterbacks. DJ just didn't have it today. Cade came in and got it done. This is a great team win."
MORE: How long with Klubnik remain backup at Clemson?
Klubnik, the No. 1 overall quarterback in the 2022 class and No. 6 overall player, responded by leading three scoring drives, two of them touchdowns, in the comeback. Prior to his entering the game, Clemson had had four turnovers (two interceptions, two fumbles), a turnover on downs and a punt.
Klubnik ultimately finished the day completing 2 of 4 passes for 19 yards, adding 15 yards on six rushes — not exactly a game-breaking performance. Conversely, Uiagalelei completed 13 of 21 passes for 138 yards and two interceptions, adding 13 yards on 8 rushes.
Clemson obviously needed to score the points necessary in the comeback, but the victory could be placed more on running back Will Shipley (50-yard touchdown run) and a big second-half performance by the defense (six punts forced) in the victory.
Swinney was also quick to nix any potential quarterback controversy, telling McGrath that Uiagalelei would remain the team's starter moving into the last third of the season.
MORE: Clemson's home winning streak on line: Breaking down the Tigers' Death Valley dominance
"Sometimes Steph Curry goes 2-for-25. The best players can sometimes have a bad day," Swinney said of Uiagalelei. "He got out of rhythm, made some bad plays. We just needed a change.
"DJ is our quarterback. There ain't no question about that. That's our guy. That's our leader. You can write that right now. DJ is our guy. He's gotta play better, and he will."
Prior to Saturday's matchup vs. Syracuse, Uiagalelei had completed 137 of 213 passes (64 percent) for 1,665 yards and 17 touchdowns to two interceptions. He only threw single interceptions in Weeks 2 and 6 against Furman and Boston College, respectively.
Following the game, Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter spoke about Uiagalelei's willingness to be benched, and his understanding that players only start if they play well. Via David Hale of ESPN:
Clemson OC Brandon Streeter: “The first thing DJ said after the game was, ‘All I wanna do is win.’”
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) October 22, 2022
He did not specify if he was referring to DJ Uiagalelei or Khaled.
Asked Streeter if he’d be comfortable pulling DJ again if he were to struggle early: “Everybody knows they have to play well if they want to continue to play, but he doesn’t have to be perfect.”
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) October 22, 2022
Uiagalelei also spoke about his benching after the game (via Hale):
“If I were in Dabo’s position, I would’ve done the same thing," Uiagalelei said. "If your quarterback is struggling, you’ve got to be able to make a change. We have 135 guys on this team and his responsibility is to all of them, not me.”
Swinney in 2018 faced a similar decision, electing to bench the previous year's starter Kelly Bryant in favor of Trevor Lawrence, the latter of whom led a 15-0, undefeated record en route to a College Football Playoff championship. For now, it appears Swinney and Clemson will move forward with Uiagalelei.
