Dabo Swinney may be a national title-winning head coach, but college football is a "what have you done for me lately" kind of sport these days. Clemson fans are asking just that after watching the Tigers blow it against Florida State.
The Tigers were hosting the Seminoles in a rivalry matchup that just might have proven Clemson is still a contender in the ACC. But that didn't happen. Instead, FSU came away with a 31-24 overtime victory, their first in the series in seven tries.
Kicker Jonathan Weitz missed a chip shot field goal to go ahead with under two minutes to play. Quarterback Cade Klubnik missed his receiver on fourth down in overtime. But it was the head coach who, rightly, took the brunt of the criticism.
Fire Dabo? CFB Twitter blasts Dabo Swinney, Clemson fans are done
Swinney's title-winning résumé makes him pretty much fire-proof. That doesn't mean he's free from valid criticism over his management of the Clemson program as college football has moved into a new era.
He has rejected NIL and rejected the transfer portal. It's caught up to him, that much is extremely clear. And if he doesn't change something, the Clemson decline will only get worse.
Clemson had a 24-17 lead in the waning minutes of the third quarter. However, the offense failed to score the rest of the way while the Seminoles returned a fumble 56 yards for a touchdown just before the start of the fourth quarter.
The Tigers had a chance to take the lead on a field goal. Swinney and offensive coordinator Garrett Wiley faced criticism for having Klubnik run on third-and-11 instead of being more aggressive to make the field goal even easier or go for a touchdown.
The miss by the kicker sent the game to overtime. There Keon Coleman made an impressive catch for a 24-yard touchdown. With the ball in the Tigers court, the offense couldn't come through. Klubnik threw a pass for no gain when he could have run for a first down then missed his throw on fourth to end the game.
