Clemson's dismal 2025 college football season could go from bad to worse in Week 8, when the Tigers might be forced to face SMU without star quarterback Cade Klubnik.
Clemson has been concerned with Klubnik, who has been dealing with an ankle injury, throughout the week. The situation has heightened as the week progressed, with the team expressing “significant concern” that Klubnik will miss the game, according to On3 Sports.
The team is reportedly concerned enough that it is preparing backup quarterback Christopher Vizzina, who has taken “most” of the first-team reps in practice, On3 Sports' Pete Nakos added.
The injury comes at the worst possible time for a struggling Clemson team. After getting off to a disastrous 1-3 start, the Tigers are on their first win streak of the season, entering Week 8 off consecutive blowout victories over North Carolina and Boston College.
Klubnik was essential to both wins, racking up 534 passing yards, seven touchdowns and one interception over the last two weeks. The preseason Heisman Trophy candidate now has 1,530 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions through six games.
Clemson preparing to face SMU without Cade Klubnik
If Klubnik sits, it would mark the first injury absence of his career. Since taking over as Clemson's starting quarterback late in the 2022 college football season, the 22-year-old has started 35 consecutive games.
Vizzina, a sophomore out of Birmingham, Alabama, is in his second year with the team. The former four-star recruit has appeared in just nine games thus far in garbage time. He enters Week 8 with 227 total passing yards, zero touchdowns and one interception in his young career.
With both teams making the 2025 College Football Playoffs, the Clemson-SMU Week 8 matchup looked like one of the best games of the year in the preseason. However, both teams surprisingly enter the contest unranked after getting off to disappointing starts.
The 4-2 Mustangs enter the week with a slightly better record than the 3-3 Tigers. Neither team has been able to beat a high-level opponent in 2025. Clemson dropped early games against LSU and Georgia Tech, and SMU suffered losses to in-state rivals TCU and Baylor.
