Cade Klubnik previews App State, stresses not overlooking Clemson’s next opponent

After falling 34-3 to No. 1 Georgia in its season opener in Atlanta, No. 22 Clemson won’t have much of a soft landing spot in Week 2 when Appalachian State visits Death Valley Saturday night.

The Mountaineers (1-0) are one of the better Group of Five programs in college football, having been to two Sun Belt Conference Championship Games in the past three seasons and winning four straight conference championships from 2016-19.

Since 2019, Appalachian State has beaten three Power Four teams: Texas A&M (2022), North Carolina and South Carolina (both in 2019). A season ago, they took the Tar Heels to double overtime before falling, 40-34.

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik knows the Tigers’ opponent isn’t one the team can afford to take lightly.

“I think Coach Swinney said they’ve beaten a ranked team the last three years in a row,” Klubnik said Wednesday. “To have a team come in like that, you can’t ever overlook a team like that.”

Clemson is listed as a 17-point favorite according to FanDuel Sportsbook, but Klubnik said he expects the Mountaineers to give the Tigers their best shot for all four quarters.

“They’re a very well-coached, very well-disciplined team,” said Klubnik. “They’re not the biggest guys in the world but they’re very physical and they’re very active up front, playing that 3-down front. They’re going to play the whole game with everything they have and we know that. They’re going to come in here with everything they have and they’re going to give everything they’ve got.”

Appalachian State won its season opener, 38-10, over East Tennessee State, an FCS team from the Southern Conference. Since joining the FBS ranks in 2014, the Mountaineers haven’t finished with a losing record once and have posted eight seasons of 9 wins or more.

CBS Sports has Appalachian State at No. 43 in its ranking of all 134 FBS teams after Week 1. The Mountaineers received three votes for Top 25 consideration in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll .

“They are just guys that are going to fight their butt off the whole game. They’re not scared of anyone,” Klubnik acknowledged. “That’s a team where you’ve got to go give it your all because you don’t want to end up like one of those teams the last three years. You’ve got to go give it your all and just keep fighting until the very, very last play because you know they’re going to be.

“They’ve got some great players on the other side and some great players on offense. Their offense is explosive and they’ve got a great quarterback (Joey Aguilar).”

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET from Clemson Memorial Stadium. The game can be seen on ACC Network.

Here’s everything else Klubnik said Wednesday.

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