Sack Prediction for 2023 Season

Before I predict the stat line for how many times Cade Klubnik will be sacked in the 2023 season, let's recap 2022 sack stats from the leagues best quarterbacks:

-Starting at Clemson, DJ Uiagasomething was sacked 22 times (not playing the whole season where Cade started the Orange Bowl and was sacked 4 times).

-At Alabama, Bryce Young (who was the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft) was sacked 18 times.

-Heisman winner, Caleb Williams, was sacked 30 times last year at USC.

-Max Duggan (Heisman runner-up from TCU) was arguably one of the toughest QBs to take down last year, was sacked 29 times.

-Stetson Bennet, who led Georgia to their second straight CFP National Championship, was sacked only ever sacked 9 times all season. This is also due to the fact Georgia has the #1 Offensive line in the country and Stetson Bennet was only sacked 28 times in his 4 years at Georgia.

My Prediction:

While I certainly feel Cade's success can only go up from his first career start against Tennessee, it is hard to dismiss just how much he was manhandled in the backfield during his Orange Bowl defeat. While he was only sacked four times, it felt like fourteen. As Clemson wore their white jerseys for the game, Cade's was the only one stained green. A result from being violently thrown to the ground, where it seemed he spent most of the time.

With that being said, there is a lot of change to the Tiger's 2023 season. The Clemson offensive line has strengthened significantly. According to Athlon Sports’ Top 20 offensive lines for 2023, the Clemson Tigers O-Line is the No.15 best in the country! If you want to read more about the 2023 Clemson O-Line, go to the Clemson Wire.

If Cade can stay healthy and well protected by his fifteenth ranked unit, I believe we'll see a lot less of him on the ground. The Tiger's strength of schedule is ranked No.35 going into the 2023 season according to Sports Illustrated and ranked No.5 toughest in the ACC according to The Clemson Insider. So there is something to be said in the match ups of Clemson's elite offensive linemen and Syracuse's lackluster pass rushing defense.

With an easier schedule consisting of opponents with less intimidating linebackers than Aaron Beasley from Tennessee, I predict the over/under sack line for Cade Klubnik to be at 18 sacks this season. This includes Bowl Games/Playoffs. If I were a betting man I would take the under on this sack line. Cade Klubnik is pretty electric and seems to be motivated more than ever to not get thrown around like a rag doll.