If you missed a moment of the action when the Clemson Tigers had the ball against Appalachian State in the first half of their 66-20 romp on Saturday night in Death Valley, well, you shouldn’t have many troubles finding the big plays on various college football highlight reels.
Klubnik’s Big Night
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik had a career night, finishing the first quarter 11 of 11 for 233 yards and three touchdown tosses as the Tigers (1-1) built a 35-0 lead en route to the victory.
All told, Klubnik combined for seven touchdowns — five through the air and two more on the ground. All of them came in the first half as Clemson carried a 56-13 lead into intermission. He finished 24 of 26 on the night with 378 yards — far and away career-highs for the junior beginning his second full season as the Tigers’ quarterback.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Klubnik became the first player in 25 years at the FBS level to finish with five passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns and a 90 completion rate.
Coming Out Party for Wesco?
Maybe it was more of a warm-up dance than a full-on party, but true freshman receiver Bryant Wesco had his own smash debut in front of the home crowd, catching three passes for 130 yards (all in the first quarter).
Wesco hauled in a perfectly thrown 76-yard strike from Klubnik less than two minutes into the game for what Tigers fans can only hope is the first of many touchdowns for the five-star recruit out of Midlothian, Texas.
Wesco had one catch in the Week 1 loss to Georgia and was only on the field for 12 snaps. The fact that he was not only announced as a starter for Week 2 but was featured so prominently early on was in and of itself a welcome sight.
The same holds true for fellow freshman receiver TJ Moore , who had a 33-yard touchdown reception and two more catches for another 11 yards.
RELATED: Clemson crushes App State on historic night for Cade Klubnik
Don’t Forget about Mafah
Somewhat lost in the spotlight of Klubnik’s big night and Wesco’s performance was senior running back Phil Mafah , who finished the game with 10 carries for 118 yards after reeling off an 83-yard touchdown run from scrimmage for Clemson’s third touchdown of the night.
While his other runs were less celebrated (his longest carry aside from the touchdown run was still for eight yard), there’s going to be a time this season when Mafah and the ground game as a whole will have to put away a game or win one outright for the Tigers in crunch time.
Briningstool Is A Weapon
I admit to being biased here, but tight end Jake Briningstool is one of my favorite players. There’s a quiet leadership about him, and his performance Saturday night (a team-high seven catches, 100 yards, two touchdowns) marked his second career 100-yard receiving game.
Up Next
Clemson has a bye next week before hosting NC State on Sept. 21. Kickoff time and broadcast information have not yet been announced.
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