Two Clemson Tigers Stars Earn ACC Weekly Awards After FSU Performance

The Clemson Tigers had two of the top performances in the ACC after their victory over Florida State.

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Clemson Tigers place kicker Nolan Hauser (81) kicks a field goal against the Georgia Bulldogs in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Two Clemson Tigers players were part of the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Players of the Week for last week’s action, during which the Tigers beat Florida State.

The Tigers moved up to No. 10 in the AP Top 25 as a result of the victory and are the second-highest-rated ACC team in the poll.

Offensive lineman Marcus Tate and placekicker Nolan Hauser each earned awards.

Tate was named the league’s top offensive lineman. He and the rest of the Tigers’ line helped them rush for 265 yards and throw for 235 yards, the third time this season the Tigers have rushed and passed for at least 200 yards in a game.

When the Tigers do that under coach Dabo Swinney the Tigers are 64-1. In program history they are 114-1-1.

Clemson’s 265 rushing yards was its second-highest total of the season, which included a season-high 154 yards by Phil Mafah. The Tigers gained 6.6 yards per carry.

The senior is one of the most experienced members of the offensive line. He is in his fourth year as a starter and entered the season with 32 games of experience and more than 1,800 snaps in spite of injuries that limited him in 2023. As a true freshman, he became the third offensive lineman since 1972 to start a season opener.

Hauser helped the Tigers out with a huge game on Saturday, as he made five field goals — and had two others blocked — in the victory. He accounted for 17 of Clemson’s 29 points and his five field goals were the most for a Tigers kicker since 2011.

This season he has made 10-of-12 field goal attempts and 23-of-24 PATs as a true freshman.

While not an ACC award, quarterback Cade Klubnik found out on Monday that he made the Top 25 of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which is awarded to the game’s best quarterback.

He had already been named the Golden Arm Player of the Week after his incredible performance against Appalachian State in Week 2. That week he was also the Co-ACC Quarterback of the Week.

He has thrown for 1,219 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions in five games. He’s also rushed for 168 yards and scored four touchdowns. He’s nearly matched his career high in rushing and has already matched his career high for touchdown runs.

The other ACC players selected this week were Miami’s Cam Ward (quarterback), Syracuse’s LeQuint Allen (running back), Pitt’s Desmond Reid (receiver), Syracuse’s Fadil Diggs (defensive lineman), Pitt’s Kyle Louis (linebacker), Virginia’s Jonas Sanker (defensive back) and Pitt’s Eli Holstein (Rookie).