CLEMSON – Let’s be honest here.

Though Clemson lost Saturday’s game to SMU, in a way, it seemed like a win.

Why?

The Tigers now know what they got in backup quarterback Christopher Vizzina. Though things started out rocky for the sophomore, he ultimately settled in and gave his team a chance to win the game.

If you told me prior to Clemson’s 35-24 loss to SMU, who was going to play better – Vizzina or the Clemson defense? I would have easily taken the Clemson defense.

But the exact opposite was true. Vizzina completed 29 of 42 passes for 317 yards and threw three touchdowns with no interceptions.

On the other side of the ball, the Clemson defense gave up 429 yards and allowed the Mustangs to score following all four of the Tigers’ scores.

 “It is disappointing because that is what we have done these last two ballgames. They have played really well,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “It is complimentary football, and we just did not get it done today.”

But despite the lack of a run game, and despite the issues on defense in the second half, Vizzina and the offense got better as the game went along.

Vizzina finally got things rolling with a 32-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Moore in the second quarter. The two then connected in the third quarter for a 62-yard TD and he later found Tristan Smith for a 23-yard TD in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-21 play.

With the status of Cade Klubnik still up in the air when the Tigers play Duke in two weeks, Vizzina’s performance gives them a sense of hope moving forward, even if their star quarterback is slow to get back on the field.

“He got an opportunity to go play, and he did a good job,” Swinney said. “He did a lot of good things. He threw for (317) yards, threw three touchdowns and made some big plays.

“We have seen a lot in practice, and he just has not seen a ton of opportunity. Again, his first year, he was 17-years old, so we were going to redshirt him, and he got hardly any opportunities. Then last year, there were a lot of close games so there were not many opportunities.”

But Vizzina got his opportunity on Saturday with Klubnik out with an ankle sprain, and he made the most of it.

“This will help him. We have a lot of confidence in him,” Swinney said. “We are going to sign a couple (of quarterbacks) in this class coming in, as well. But he competed his butt off today in a tough situation.”

Yes, he did. And as a result, he gave Clemson a little hope for the future, especially the immediate future.