Watch: Clemson uses trick play to seal fifth straight win

The score was part of a run that began near the end of the second quarter in which the Tigers secured the victory by hanging 28 unanswered points on Wake Forest.

Before Klubnik threw a touchdown to receiver Troy Stellato with 1:31 left in the second quarter, Clemson was only leading the Demon Deacons by a score of 21-14.

But with Stellato’s score right before the end of the first half and the Tigers adding 21 more points in the third and fourth quarters, the Tigers were able to walk out of Wake Forest’s home stadium with their fifth win in a row since opening the season with a loss to Georgia. 

In the win over the Demon Deacons, Klubnik put together a very solid performance in his sixth start for Clemson this year. On a season-high 41 pass attempts, the junior quarterback completed 75.6 percent of his throws for 309 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Klubnik also pitched in with 30 rushing yards on seven carries.

Senior running back Phil Mafah led all Tigers players in rushing on Saturday with 118 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. For Mafah, it was the fourth time this season that he finished a game with at least 100 rushing yards.

On the other side of the ball, junior linebacker Wade Woodaz led Clemson with six tackles on Saturday and the team’s defense held Wake Forest to just 14 points and 233 yards of total offense.

With the win, the Tigers are now sitting with a 5-1 record this season, which probably didn’t seem attainable to some after the school opened up the 2024 campaign with a terrible 34-3 loss to Georgia. But Clemson has regrouped since that disappointing loss and the school is now back in position to compete for a spot in this season’s 12-team College Football Playoff.

Prior to the Tigers’ victory on Saturday, The Athletic’s Austin Mock had already projected the school to enter this season’s College Football Playoff bracket as the No. 11 seed. So, by defeating the Demon Deacons by 35 points this weekend, Clemson’s chances of earning a spot in the College Football Playoff are only going to be higher.

With ESPN’s current College Football Power Index projecting the Tigers to win at least 10 games this year, and with four of the final six games on their schedule taking place inside their home stadium, it’s now difficult to envision this season’s College Football Playoff bracket not including Clemson.