CLEMSON -- Long after now, and long after the coming Orange Bowl, questions are going to persist about the coaches' handling of the quarterback situation in 2022.

Even if Cade Klubnik and Clemson go out and dust Tennessee in the Orange Bowl, even amid the blast of optimism and excitement that would accompany the coming offseason under such a scenario, Dabo Swinney is going to hear about it.

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Because the booster-club circuit gives fans their chance to get a crack at him. And the list of questions will be as long as the leash the staff gave DJ Uiagalelei when the offense was floundering against South Carolina.

Two weeks after Swinney told DJ it was do or die against Louisville, the Tigers' playoff hopes died in part because of the quarterback play against South Carolina.

So oh yeah, this is going to be a topic on the 2023 rubber-chicken circuit. And probably 2024 and 2025, too. That's just the way it works with a rivalry that creates long memories, particularly memories of a 40-game home winning streak being ground to dust.

But amid all that, amid the legitimate scrutiny that is coming the way of the coaches, it's important to have some clarity on the window of time we're discussing.

Some are saying the sudden and dramatic offensive renaissance Saturday night proves that Klubnik should've been the quarterback all along.

As in, all season.