BREAKING NEWS: Klubnik, Clemson sit with regret as Sellers, South Carolina claim victory in Death Valley….

CLEMSON — Cade Klubnik was leaning forward on a stool, his shoulders slumped, as if the weight of Clemson’s loss to South Carolina was on his back.

It was still very fresh. The quarterback’s final pass was behind running back Phil Mafah, tipped in the air and picked off by the Gamecocks’ Demetrius Knight Jr. to seal a 17-14 loss. Klubnik suddenly went from leading a heroic drive on Nov. 30 at Memorial Stadium to wishing he could hit rewind.

The opportunity Clemson had to assert itself in the College Football Playoff discussion was gone. It was the quarterback on the other sideline, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, who was the game’s shining star after rushing for 166 yards and a game-winning score.

“We gotta finish,” Klubnik told reporters, almost in a whisper.

A year of growth for Clemson’s quarterback peaked and then valleyed in a matter of seconds. Just one bad pass, one bad result, which was hard to shake.

Klubnik was able to hop back several ticks, mentally, when he was asked to recall his confidence leading into the Tigers’ final drive. The sadness in his face was temporarily replaced by a confident smirk, reminded that he’s the same quarterback who led a game-winning drive at Pitt just two weeks ago.

“Unwavering belief,” Klubnik said. “Until the very last play, I knew we were still gonna win.”

Klubnik completed to tight end Jake Briningstool for 24 yards. Then another 12 to wideout T.J. Moore. Then went scrambling for 11 more.

He was down to the South Carolina 18, flushed on a second-and-10, rolling to his right. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said his quarterback shouldn’t have even scrambled because he was supposed to take a quick shot to the outside.

“Should have just thrown it out of bounds, and let’s go to third down,” Swinney said. “We got one more shot, and then we kick it. And then we go to overtime and see what happens.”

Instead, Klubnik scrambled and, as he put it, “dirt-balled it.”

Klubnik’s pass trailed Mafah and ricocheted off the running back’s hands. Knight dove under it.

Tips, Swinney said, are usually picks.

“That was a mistake. But he’ll learn from it. That kid’s got a lot of football ahead of him,” Swinney said. “He’s hurting from it.”

Swinney found himself using the past tense throughout most of his postgame press conference, very much aware of what was lost.

He was not very interested in whether Syracuse might beat Miami — the Orange did — and put the Tigers in an ACC title game with SMU.

“Everybody’s pissed,” Swinney said.

Clemson could have had a “great year,” Swinney said, if it beat the Gamecocks. Instead, this was merely a good year, which again featured South Carolina players gathered on the Tiger Paw logo at midfield.

Just like in 2022, the Gamecocks’ logo was flying high in Death Valley. The flag briefly submerged beneath a mass of humanity as Clemson players filtered through and grabbed at it. But it was too late to stop the celebration.

The opportunity had literally slipped through the Tigers’ grasp as Sellers eluded sack after sack, rampaging through Clemson’s defense.

Klubnik’s late interception was bound to be magnified, but Clemson’s offense missed chances from start to finish. The Tigers passed on a 28-yard field goal on their second drive, instead rolling out their “jumbo package” on a fourth-and-1, and the Gamecocks stuffed it.

“If I kick the field goal, you’re probably saying, ‘Why didn’t you go for it on fourth-and-1?'” Swinney said. “I made the decision in the moment that I believed in.”

That was, simply, a missed opportunity, Swinney said.

Klubnik was, for the most part, extremely productive. He completed 24 of 36 for 280 yards and added another 62 rushing, including rushing touchdowns of 13 and 18 yards. But he also missed a couple of passes.

He had wideout Bryant Wesco Jr. open on a vertical route in the first half, which was gunned over the freshman’s head. He also missed Wesco, open on a slant route, on a third-and-2 that ended one of Clemson’s fourth-quarter drives.

“We got a slant. It’s probably going to the house,” Swinney said, “and you’re inches off.”

At the end the day, Swinney had to tip his cap to South Carolina. Sellers wasn’t just making spectacular third-down scrambles on Clemson because he’s done this all year. It’s like a “rerun,” Swinney said.

But the Tigers aren’t 9-3, he added, if not for Klubnik. The junior thought he was going to win until the very last moment, and he’s earned that belief. He’s thrown 29 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He ran for a 50-yard go-ahead score at Pitt with just over a minute left.

Klubnik’s offensive line, which returned blindside protectors Tristan Leigh and Marcus Tate, stood up well against South Carolina’s vaunted pass rush. Klubnik’s receivers, from Antonio Williams to the freshmen Wesco and Moore, were making contested catches.

“Made so many big-time plays,” Klubnik said. “Just gotta find a way to finish.”

After just a couple of minutes with the media, Klubnik’s postgame interview was called off. He wasn’t quick to get up from his stool, though.

He just sat there for a moment, shoulders still slumped. His face communicated nothing but pain and sadness.

He knew he’d let one slip away, but he couldn’t have it back.