Do you know what the hardest time is for the coaches? No, not just the losses. But the times when they don’t have much to say to make anyone feel better. That’s exactly where Clemson Tigers HC Dabo Swinney is in. Saturday, November 2, turned out to be an ominous evening for Clemson, who got thrashed 31-22 by Louisville. But was it expected? No not at all! Especially after Swinney got the green pass from none other than the ESPN analyst, who is otherwise a tough nut to crack. The analyst now blames himself for the HC’s disrespect. However, even amidst the humiliation, the HC did not run away and took the responsibility for the big loss on his shoulders. 

Can you guess when was the last time the Tigers got defeated by the Cardinals ever since they joined ACC in 2014? You probably can’t because this is No. 11 Clemson’s first loss in history. In the first half of the game, Clemson gave Louisville momentum with mistakes and penalties. But seems like more than the players, HC Swinney is getting thrown under the bus for some of his questionable decisions. And do you know who is now regretting for staking highly on the Clemson HC? It’s Paul Finebaum. On the ESPN College Football podcast, the ESPN analyst shared, “I sat here a week ago and gave praise to Dabo Swinney which may have been the worst thing that ever happened to him.”

He then continued, “I know I’m injecting myself into the narrative here but Matt I felt like I was doing the right thing on the Matt Barrie Show doing I had never done before and now I have to eat it up.” But why is Finebaum blaming himself for what the HC is going through at the moment? As we all know, it’s not an easy task to land praise from Finebaum. But somehow Swinney got lucky. 

A few days back on the Matt Barrie Show, the ESPN analyst could not resist singing in the Tigers HC’s praise. Under Swinney, Clemson has won six straight games but that too by skipping the transfer portal for the 2024 cycle. This was enough to woo Finebaum, who showered big praise on the HC: “Maybe one of the biggest surprises I’ve had this season is watching Clemson get a lot better. To Dabo Swinney’s credit, I mean, I led the parade, ruling them out after Labor Day.” And look how the tables turned for Swinney, who now takes the blame.  

Dabo Swinney’s bold post-game confession

November 2 was all about coaching mishaps. For instance, with only five minutes left for the third quarter, Swinney decided to go for it on fourth down and gave the Cardinals easy access as they came up with a field goal, leading by 16 points. After that, in the fourth quarter, already down by three scores, the Tigers killed five minutes of the game by methodically marching down the field. That was not at all expected from Swinney, who otherwise had a solid start. 

After giving a long speech congratulating Louisville and their power-packed performances, it was time for Swinney to take account of the loss. And he did not run away from doing the ugly job. Instead, he stated, “We did not play anywhere near our best tonight. And it hurts.” And here came the bold claim. 

“It’s a missed opportunity, a huge missed opportunity. And we did not, we didn’t deserve to win,” stated the disappointed HC. If Dabo Swinney himself is so confident that the Clemson Tigers did not give their 100% to the game, then you should know that the issue is real! Now, Paul Finebaum might think twice before praising a coach too much, as he seems to jinx it.