ESPN’s Paul Finebaum did not hold back on the Clemson Tigers after they lost again Saturday night to the North Carolina State Wolfpack 24-17.
This is the first time in over a decade that the Tigers have had back-to-back losses since 2011. The loss dropped them to 4-4 on the season, and there is a strong possibility that this team may not make a bowl appearance.
Finebaum blamed Clemson’s collapse on head coach Dabo Swinney on ‘The Matt Barrie Show’ this weekend. He added that Dabo just refuses to change with the times.
“The saddest story in college football this year is Dabo Swinney and Clemson,” Finebaum said. “There is not a single person outside of that area code who is feeling sorry. This is a coach who has thumbed his nose at the norms of where we are today.”
Finebaum even wonders if the Tigers can reclaim their glory years or but lost forever like the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
“He has made countless mistakes, and it’s now blowing up. I think the real question for Dabo Swinney and Clemson is can you get it back? I mean, these are not easy things to get back. Nebraska has been in the wilderness for 25 years. Other programs have been out there.”
Swinney has been very outspoken against NIL, and he also rarely has used the transfer portal to bring new kids into his program. Finebaum thinks if he doesn’t adjust soon, Clemson may be done as a national powerhouse.
“I don’t know when I’ve seen someone really at the top of the game fall this dramatically, this quickly, and not really be in their seventies or something, where all of a sudden you just hit that age, and it’s a crash and burn. This guy is barely 50, I think, and it’s staggering to watch what has happened, and it seemed like it happened overnight,” he said.
