Rapid Reaction: Clemson falls on the road to N.C. State, move to 4-4 on the year.

Clemson turned the ball over twice and gave up a defensive score as they fell to N.C. State for their fourth loss of season.

It may have been a good thing that a large part of the Clemson fanbase couldn't watch the Tigers on Saturday due to the CW's shocking lack of a live stream. Turnovers, dull offense, and poor tackling, the same things that have appeared way too frequently for Clemson in 2023, reared their ugly heads again on Saturday as the Tigers fell at N.C. State 24-17.

Cade Klubnik was intercepted twice; his second was returned for a touchdown and was the difference in the game. On the day, the much maligned sophomore quarterback was 33-50 for 263 yards with no scores. Will Shipley and Tyler Brown both exited the game with injuries. Shipley did not return.

Clemson falls to 4-4 with their 24-17 loss at N.C. State / Clemson Athletics

Immediate reactions

• Clemson might not make a bowl game. The Tigers play host to No. 14 Notre Dame next week, then play: home against Georgia Tech and No. 17 North Carolina, then finish the year at South Carolina. Point out two guaranteed wins.
• Giving Cade Klubnik all of the snaps going forward makes since if he's going to be your guy next year, but that doesn't mean you can feed him to the Wolves. Clemson's running backs on carried the ball 22 times on Saturday, while Klubnik had his name called 56 times on passing plays. That spread is unsustainable. 
• The Clemson defense is still elite, but they have been susceptible to the big play. N.C. State had plays of 50 and 75 yards on Saturday. Some of that can be attributed to the aggressive play style, and certainly some to how often they're on the field, but the tackling hasn't been great at times. 

Of course Clemson wants to win out, but the first goal has to be to reel in Garrett Riley and Cade Klubnik. Klubnik being responsible for 75% of the offense isn't acceptable. Swinney is going to have to step in if the Tigers have any hope of getting to six wins.