Dabo Swinney spent the week rallying to DJ Uiagalelei's defense, saying his junior quarterback wasn't the only reason Clemson suffered a bitter defeat to South Carolina.
Swinney will have a harder time making the case that Cade Klubnik wasn't the only reason his offense suddenly snapped to life Saturday night.
Heck, not just the offense. You could argue the entire team was immediately galvanized by Klubnik's presence in this 39-10 awakening in the ACC championship.
We'll never know what might've happened had Swinney and Brandon Streeter gone with Klubnik as the offense floundered with Uiagalelei seven days ago.
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Maybe enough to make it eight straight against the Gamecocks.
Maybe enough to put this team back into the playoff, with Southern Cal and TCU losing their conference championship games.
The what-if is going to tantalize Clemson fans for a long time.
But at least that tinge is accompanied by the sweet taste of another ACC championship, not to mention a whole heck of a lot of renewed excitement for the coming bowl game and beyond.
Quite simply, Klubnik was that good. That different.
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Yes, Nate Wiggins and the defense provided plenty of help in buckling down when North Carolina reached scoring territory. A pick-6 by Wiggins, a blocked field goal by Wiggins, and multiple big passes broken up by Wiggins certainly were a force of nature in their own right as the Tar Heels had just 10 points to show for 386 yards and 26 first downs.
But on both sides of the ball this team lacked life in the early stages of this game. Seemed to lack a desire to go through the same-old, same-old of Uiagalelei bouncing passes to his receivers and the offense stuck in muck.
Then Swinney made the call for Klubnik after the first two drives produced 7 yards on six plays, including two badly missed throws from Uiagalelei.
Suddenly everything felt different. The offense opened up and looked like it could breathe. The fans opened up and realized they could actually be excited about the next three hours of football.
Klubnik moved the offense right down the field by hitting Antonio Williams for 16 and later for 22, and then a beautiful throw to Davis Allen in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
To that point, the offense had produced one touchdown over 10 possessions with Uiagalelei at quarterback dating back to late in the second quarter against South Carolina.
Klubnik's six drives Saturday: Four touchdowns, a field goal and one punt.
After the first touchdown drive, ESPN's Todd Blackledge said Swinney was in a tough spot as he tried to figure out which quarterback to go with from that point.
Uh, no.
Swinney's decision to continue with Klubnik was easy. And the freshman's performance on the big stage does invite fair questions about why the staff was so hesitant to give him a more extended shot not just against South Carolina but before.
Klubnik threw for 279 yards and a touchdown on a 20-of-24 clip while also rushing for 30 yards and a score. He gave the offense a zest and a pop that had been missing even on some of Uiagalelei's better days.
He outperformed celebrated counterpart Drake Maye, who completed 26 of 42 passes for 268 yards but contributed two huge turnovers -- the first on a botched exchange in the first quarter that set up a short-field touchdown for Klubnik and the offense, and the second an absolute killer when an errant red-zone throw to his tight end found the arms of Wiggins.
To that point in the third quarter, North Carolina had moved the ball and the Tigers went three-and-out thanks to a fumble by Klubnik. The Tar Heels were 5 yards from trimming the deficit to a touchdown as Maye rolled out to his right.
Suspense was in the air. Maybe even danger for the Tigers.
A few moments and 98 yards of running by Wiggins later, Clemson was up 32-10 and this thing was basically over.
The Tigers go back down I-85 with their eighth ACC title in the last 12 years, and an 11-2 record.
Oh, and their quarterback of the future.
A future that suddenly looks a lot brighter than it did over the last week.
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