Three Huge Keys to Success For Clemson Tigers to Defeat Stanford Cardinal

The Clemson Tigers roll into their next ACC matchup in the hopes of defeating the Stanford Cardinal.

Sep 21, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney at Howard's Rock before kickoff against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Memorial Stadium. / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The novelty will wear off eventually, but it's such a unique matchup it's hard not to play into the first-of-its-kind regular season game between Clemson and Stanford on Saturday night.

Yes, the two schools met in the 1986 Gator Bowl, but that was ages ago. Since then, the college football world has evolved to the point where the Tigers (2-1, 1-0 in ACC) and the Cardinal (2-1 1-0) are in the same conference and vying to remain in a tie for the lead.

It's a thoroughly unique situation brought on by the radical realignment of college football over the past three or four years.

No one would have thought that Texas and Oklahoma would be in the SEC this year, but here we are. The Big 12 now has of 16 teams. The ACC now has 18. These are strange times indeed.

For Clemson, the goal was clear — get back to the ACC Championship game. At the start of the year, most thought that road went through Florida State. Now? Florida State has won one game and, if the AP Top 25 is any indication, Miami is the league’s best team. But Clemson, No. 17 in this week’s poll, is rising fast.

Stanford built some credibility with its win over Syracuse last Friday.  Their reward? A trip to Clemson, a trip back to the east coast for the second straight week and a night game in one of the toughest places to play in college football.

Here are three keys to success for Clemson as it prepares to face Stanford.

Bottle Up the QB

Ashton Daniels is Stanford's talented junior quarterback. This game will be as close to a homecoming as the Buford, Ga., native will get.

It's been interesting to watch his numbers this season. In Stanford's win over Cal Poly, an FCS school, he was ultra-efficient, completing 19-of-23 for 220 yards and two touchdowns.

But against a power conference opponent he’s been hot-and-cold. He had a rough game in the opener against TCU, throwing for 163 yards and completing just 48.6% of his passes.

He was much better against Syracuse, though he threw two interceptions.

If the Clemson defense can do the same thing, Daniels’ could have a rough homecoming.

Trust in Kade

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik’s numbers have been dizzyingly good since the offense short-circuited against Georgia. The latest example was against NC State, as he went 16-of-24 for 209 yards with three touchdown passes.

Built mostly on his offensive output in the last two games, he has thrown for 729 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception, not to mention what he's been able to do as a rusher.

But the Tigers need his passing on Saturday. Syracuse enters the game as the No. 3 rushing defense in the country. The Cardinal has a defensive front that is hard to deal with.

As much as the faith as the tigers should put in their running back Phil Mafah, who just passed 2,000 career rushing yards, it could be a tough night for him.

Clemson would be smart to put the ball in Klubnik’s hands early and allow his passing to open things up for the run game.

Start Fast and Don’t Look Back

This will be Stanford's second straight East Coast road trip. Back in July, Cardinal coach Troy Taylor said he wasn't going to keep his team on the East Coast for a full week, like some NFL teams do in this situation. Why? His players had class.

Stanford beat Syracuse on Friday in part because the Cardinal got off to a good start and took control of the game and then was able to withstand the Orange comeback to win the game on a late field goal.

Sure, the travel will be tough on Stanford. But it will come prepared and energized. It's a night game in Death Valley and Taylor said at media days he was kind of hoping it would be a night game just so his players could have that experience.

For Clemson the goal is clear — get a lead like it did against NC State and don't look back. The longer the Tigers allow Stanford to hang in there, the more dangerous this game becomes.