CLEMSON — Quarterback Cade Klubnik’s hometown of Austin, Texas, is over 1,000 miles away from Clemson.

Despite being halfway across the country, Klubnik has found himself competing against a team two hours from home in Saturday’s ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. 

Clemson (9-3, 7-1 ACC) will play SMU, located in Dallas, Texas, for a chance to win the ACC and secure a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The Mustangs (11-1, 8-0 ACC) secured the best overall and conference record in their first year in the ACC. With only one loss this season to No. 18 BYU, the squad is the only undefeated team in conference play.

“When I got here, if you would have told me you’d be playing SMU in the ACC Championship one day, I would probably look at you a little funny. That’s definitely something I probably wouldn’t have envisioned in my time coming to Clemson,” Klubnik said.

“It’s definitely cool, them being up there a couple hours north of where I grew up… and I got a couple people that I know there so it’ll be a cool game.”

One of the people that Klubnik knows is running back Zane Minors, a former high school teammate. Klubnik and Minors led Westlake High School to a state championship in 2020 in Klubnik’s first year as a starter. Minors led the team in rushing touchdowns, while Klubnik took command of the passing offense in their championship campaign.

“I’m excited to see Zane,” Klubnik said. “I remember when they threw SMU in the conference. I was like, ‘Dang it’s cool!’ But you know we’ll never get to play each other because we’re not in the same schedules… but then here we are. Definitely pretty cool and excited to see him.”

The connections between Klubnik’s home state do not just stop there. He has an additional connection with SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings. 

While Klubnik won a second state championship with Westlake in 2021 in the 6A classification, Jennings won the 5A division at South Oak Cliff High School the same week.

Jennings threw for 2,884 yards and 37 touchdowns in his senior season. This year at SMU, he has thrown for 2746 yards and 19 touchdowns. 

Klubnik, Minors, and Jennings will have their chance to represent their home state at 8 p.m. Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.