CLEMSON — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney believed Cade Klubnik played his worst game of the year from a quarterback play standpoint.

The No. 16 Tigers (7-2, 6-1 ACC) defeated Virginia Tech 24-14 on Saturday to keep their CFP hopes alive, but Klubnik did not play well until the second half. He was sacked a season-high four times and finished 16-for-34 passing (47.1%), his lowest completion percentage of the season. According to Pro Football Focus, he was also 5-for-16 (31.3%) on 10-yard plus passes, his second-lowest output of the year.

"Just stuff that we needed him to do as a quarterback and decisions. He took four sacks, every sack was on him, and none of them should have happened," Swinney said. "He just tried to do a little too much a couple times, just frustrating, (and) was a couple of plays there that we didn't pull the trigger on."

Klubnik received an intentional grounding penalty on the opening drive and forced a throw that resulted in his fourth interception of the season. He took sacks that could have been avoided if he released the ball quicker and threw passes where receivers couldn't make plays on the ball.

Swinney was disappointed in Klubnik's overall play, but he appreciated his quarterback's self-awareness when he asked him about it postgame.

"I said, 'How'd you think you played?' because you win a game like that, and he did some unbelievable stuff," Swinney said. "He's like, 'You know, I think it was my worst game,' and I was like, 'Man, that's why I know you're gonna be a great player' because I didn't have to tell him."

Swinney also liked the intangibles Klubnik displayed Saturday. Swinney said Klunbik's leadership, grit, toughness and will to win shined, especially when Clemson trailed 7-0 at halftime. Swinney added the Tigers haven't handled adversity well this season, including in losses to Georgia and Louisville, but was proud of how they responded on the road vs. Virginia Tech.

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Peter Woods, Tyler Brown injury updates for Clemson-Pittsburgh

Swinney said the team hopes defensive lineman Peter Woods will return Saturday vs. Pittsburgh. Woods suffered a head injury vs. Louisville in Week 10. Swinney added wide receiver Tyler Brown "looks great" but is still week to week and may redshirt with three games left in the season.

Swinney announced defensive lineman DeMonte Capehart will miss Saturday's game after he got injured vs. Louisville. Swinney also said offensive linemen Tristan Leigh and Marcus Tate are a "day to day" after suffering injuries against Virginia Tech.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: Dabo Swinney says Cade Klubnik had his worst game