CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Cade Klubnik did something on Saturday only one other quarterback has ever done against a Bill Belichick coached football team – he threw four touchdown passes in one half.
Who was the other guy?
Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes threw four second-half touchdowns against Belichick’s Patriots on Oct. 14, 2018. On Saturday, Klubnik threw four first-half touchdowns, as Clemson beat Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels, 38-10, at Kenan Stadium.
How fun was that for Klubnik to hear?
“It is definitely an interesting one,” the quarterback said. “It was cool, but you have to have a great team around me to do it. Patrick Mahomes has great players around him. I have great players around me. It’s really cool.”
Klubnik threw three of his four TDs in the first quarter, as the Tigers raced out to a 28-3 lead on UNC. The Clemson signal-caller finished his afternoon 22 of 24 for 254 yards.
“Cade, he woke up today and remembered, ‘Oh, I am Cade Klubnik.’ So, that was nice and he was amazing,” Swinney said.
Overall, the Tigers (2-3, 1-2 ACC) threw for 399 yards, their second-most in a game in its 61-game history with North Carolina, trailing its 436 passing yards against the Tar Heels in 2014.
“I was not special. I just managed the game really well and I thought the plan we had was great,” Klubnik said. “I made some good plays, but when stuff did not exactly go right, we were in some really good spots to go manage the game and that is something I thought I did really well today.”
Besides Klubnik’s four TDs, Clemson also got a 75-yard TD pass from Antonio Williams to T.J. Moore on a trick play to open the game. Williams is now 4-for-4 in his career throwing the ball for 143 yards and 2 TDs.
“Y’all have been asking me if I am excited to have (Williams) back, so it was fun to see him throw one, so that was fun,” Klubnik said. “That was great. It was good to see him go and make that play and it was an energizer for sure.”
And it all happened against a Belichick coached defense. The six-time Super Bowl winning head coach has always been known for his ability to out scheme opposing offenses and confuse quarterbacks.
However, on Saturday, Klubnik and the Clemson offense had their way with the future Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach.
“I was on the sideline, like, ‘that’s Bill Belichick over there.’ I can brag about that,” Moore said afterwards. “But I am not going to do. That’s Bill Belichick, that’s pretty cool.”