Clemson vs. North Carolina score: Cade Klubnik leads Tigers to seventh ACC championship in eight years

Klubnik accounted for more than 300 yards of total offense and two touchdowns for the Tigers

No. 9 Clemson isn't going to compete for a national title this season, but it returned to conference supremacy and clinched a spot in the Orange Bowl with a 39-10 shellacking of No. 23 North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game. The win marks the Tigers' seventh ACC crown of the past eight seasons and brings a bit of redemption for Dabo Swinney's program after it failed to make the league title game last season for the first time since 2014.

North Carolina jumped out to an early 7-0 lead but faded fast once Clemson turned to freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik on its third possession. With junior starter DJ Uiagalelei proving ineffective, Klubnik entered and quickly flipped the momentum in the Tigers' favor by directing a 71-yard touchdown drive. The former five-star prospect and heir-apparent to Uiagalelei completed 20 of 24 passes for 279 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, while also running for 30 yards and a score. Klubnik remained on the field until third-string quarterback Hunter Johnson entered with the game out of hand in the fourth quarter.

Klubnik's counterpart, North Carolina's Drake Maye, guided the Tar Heels into the red zone five times, but those trips produced just 10 points. A fumble and a blocked field goal attempt hampered the Tar Heels in the first half, and a costly interception gutted their chances during the the third quarter.

With the Tar Heels trailing just 24-10, Maye threw an ill-advised third-down pass that Clemson's Nate Wiggins intercepted and returned 98 yards for a touchdown with 5:05 left in the third quarter. The play zapped UNC's hopes of a rally and ushered in the Tar Heels' third consecutive loss. At 9-4, North Carolina can still reach double-digit victories for just the second time since 1997 if it wins a bowl game. 

Clemson has already reached double-digit wins for a 12th straight season under Swinney and can finish 12-2 if it wins the Orange Bowl. Tennessee is its projected opponent for the game, which is set for Dec. 30 in Miami. With such an emphatic win in the ACC Championship Game, Clemson would have been in great shape to make the College Football Playoff if only it hadn't lost to South Carolina last week. Without the loss to the Gamecocks, which marked Clemson's first home loss since 2016, the Tigers would have benefitted tremendously from this weekend's losses by No. 3 TCU and No. 4 USC. 

But a league title and New Year's Six bowl appearance are nothing to scoff at, especially after the program lost long-time coordinators Tony Elliot (Virginia) and Brent Venables (Oklahoma) to head coaching gigs after the 2021 season.

[Dec 3, 2022 at 11:38 pm ET · David Cobb]

Impressive performance

Final: Clemson 39, North Carolina 10

After falling behind 7-0 early, Clemson dominated the rest of the ACC Championship Game. Cade Klubnik entered for DJ Uiagalelei on the Tigers' third series and didn't exit until the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter. He was sensational, and the Clemson defense was nasty in the red zone. The Tigers aren't going to make the CFP, but they can finish 12-2 with a win in the Orange Bowl, and if Klubnik plays like this in that game, then the Tigers will be an offseason darling. The former five-star prospect made it abundantly clear tonight that he is the program's future at the position.

What a dot @CadeKlubnikQB 🤯 pic.twitter.com/vMbdQ5tQ7h

— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) December 4, 2022

[Dec 3, 2022 at 8:30 pm ET · David Cobb]

UNC looks sharp

The Tar Heels have been off their game a bit recently, but they looked great on a 78-yard touchdown drive to start this game. Drake Maye caps it off with a 3-yard TD run. This is arguably the best defense the Tar Heels have faced — though NC State's last week was really good as well — and they just went 78 yards on 11 plays to take an early lead.

[Dec 3, 2022 at 8:22 pm ET · David Cobb]

Three-and-out

Clemson goes three-and-out on its first possession. To me, the Tigers' offense vs. UNC's defense is the most intriguing matchup of this game. Both units have been lackluster all season and are a large part of the reason why there isn't more at stake in this game. Through one possession, it's the UNC defense with the edge. 

[Dec 3, 2022 at 8:02 pm ET · David Cobb]

Chip Patterson's prediction

Clemson is the better team, but the door is open for an upset in a way that we haven't seen in a long time when it comes to these conference championship showdowns against the Coastal Division. North Carolina has some injury concerns and its been far from a consistent team this season, but it has a market edge at quarterback and should be playing with considerably less pressure given the preseason expectations. Prediction: North Carolina +7.5

[Dec 3, 2022 at 7:45 pm ET · David Cobb]

ACC Player of the Year

"Though many realized North Carolina had a talented quarterback prospect in Drake Maye, few could foresee the redshirt freshman taking college football by storm the way he has in 2022. This week Maye became just the second freshman in ACC history to be named the conference's player of the year, joining Jameis Winston from the 2013 campaign that saw him win a Heisman Trophy and Florida State win a national championship. The four-award sweep of ACC Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year makes him among the most decorated Tar Heels in program history, and his 3,847 passing yards are already a new single-season school record. The quarterback strength in the ACC was well-documented coming into the season, but no one had zeroed in one Maye having not just the best season in the conference but one of the best seasons of any player in the entire country. Saturday night's test against a stout Clemson defense will be a great chance for Maye to deliver on a big stage, and potentially add an MVP award to this busy week of accolades." - Chip Patterson

[Dec 3, 2022 at 7:30 pm ET · David Cobb]

Back-to-back UNC losses

"North Carolina also enters the game hoping to move past recent setbacks on the field, having lost back-to-back home games to Georgia Tech and rival NC State by a combined seven points to close out the regular season. A few more plays in the other direction in the last two weeks and the Tar Heels, currently with a 9-3 record, could have been among those teams looking to add some chaos to the playoff picture on Saturday. Instead the stakes are entirely on winning the conference, which does still resonate given the program's 42-year ACC title drought." - Chip Patterson

[Dec 3, 2022 at 7:11 pm ET · David Cobb]

Tigers playoff hopes dashed

"Clemson had a path to the playoff as a one-loss conference champion until it fell to rival South Carolina on the final week of the regular season to drop to 10-2 on the year. The loss also snapped the program's 40-game home winning streak, which had lasted so long that no member of the current roster had even experienced a defeat in Death Valley. Playing for the ACC Championship represents a chance to quickly move past that disappointment and focus on having a trophy to show for the team's efforts to re-establish Clemson's place among its peers in the league." - Chip Patterson