The Shocking Clemson Collapse: How Dabo Swinney and Cade Klubnik’s Fatal Mistakes Changed Everything

Dabo Swinney has crafted a legacy as one of college football’s premier quarterback gurus, guiding stars like Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence to national titles and NFL stardom. Yet, here we are in 2025, watching his latest prodigy, Cade Klubnik—once a front-runner for the Heisman and the 2026 NFL Draft’s top pick—struggle to make good on sky-high expectations. What happens when the “quarterback whisperer” hits a rough patch and his supposed franchise savior can’t quite light up the scoreboard? With Clemson sitting at a troubling 1-2 and the Tigers slipping out of the top 25, it’s a perplexing mix of missed opportunities, turnover woes, and coaching questions hanging heavy in the air. Is this just a speed bump or a sign that even legends need to rethink their playbook? Let’s dig deep into what’s truly unraveling in Clemson’s 2025 campaign. LEARN MORE

Dabo Swinney has done a lot of winning as the head coach of the Clemson Tigers football team. He has also been a quarterback whisperer of sorts, as some of the best collegiate signal callers of this generation have found success under Swinney. Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, for example, won College Football Playoff national championships with the team. Tajh Boyd found success quarterbacking the team, too, and Cade Klubnik had emerged as a superstar in recent seasons.

So much so, that Klubnik was one of the preseason favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, and it was assumed that he could lead Clemson back to the top of college football this year. Instead, Klubnik has struggled during the 2025 season, and Clemson has just a 1-2 record. So, just what has gone wrong?

Cade Klubnik has not lived up to expectations

Not only was Klubnik a potential Heisman contender coming into the season, but he was also in the running to become the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. As Klubnik’s Heisman odds have fallen off a cliff, so has the likelihood that he’ll be selected atop the NFL Draft.

After throwing for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns last season, Klubnik has just 633 yards and three touchdowns through three games this season. That is underwhelming and mediocre production for someone who was supposed to light the scoreboard up. Perhaps even more worrisome than Klubnik’s mediocrity is the fact that he has become somewhat turnover-prone. Klubnik only had six interceptions all of last season, and he already has three this year. He even fumbled in Clemson’s most recent game.

Klubnik was outshone in a Week 1 loss to LSU. That was a battle for the number one pick, as LSU’s quarterback is Garrett Nussmeier. The LSU star not only collected the win and had more yards and touchdowns, but he also completed 10 more passes in the exact same number of attempts.

Clemson got a win in Week 2, but Klubnik was held to sub-200 passing yards. He barely surpassed that number while suffering another loss in Week 3 against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets won that game on a time-expiring field goal make, proving they are a clutch team because they also bested Colorado late earlier in the season. However, the team didn’t come into the year with much hype, unlike Clemson and Klubnik.

Now, the Tigers are outside of the top 25 rankings. Swinney is partly to blame, too. Clemson has historically had late/close-game success, but the lack of that this season signals that Swinney needs to adapt. Swinney’s teams haven’t won a College Football Playoff game since 2019. The current roster is stacked with NFL Draft prospects, more so than just Klubnik. T.J. Parker, Peter Woods, Avieon Terrell, and Antonio Williams are all projected first-round picks, but this hasn’t translated to wins. Something needs to change and fast if Clemson is to save their season.

The post Dabo Swinney, Cade Klubnik own this Clemson football disaster appeared first on ClutchPoints.