Clemson Football

It's been a tough fall from grace for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers, who haven't exactly reached their typical heights through the first few weeks of the college football season.

The Tigers have sort of limped out of the gate, quickly falling out of the Top 25, and they lost their second game of the season in heartbreaking fashion against Florida State on Saturday.

Swinney was at a loss for how quickly things had turned for his program.

"It breaks my heart where we are, I wish I could say why," Swinney said postgame. "All I know is we've got a lot of good days ahead. And I believe that."

It was just a few years ago that the Tigers were a fixture in the national title picture, winning two championships over a four-year span over Alabama. The last few years haven't been quite as successful, however.

Dating back to 2021, Clemson has loss three games in each of the last two campaigns, though they did make the College Football Playoff in the former.

What's even worse news for Swinney is that his squad still has several matchups against Top 25 teams, including No. 20 Miami, No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 17 UNC, respectively. The Tigers haven't loss more than three games since the 2011 season.

They are already on pace to surpass that number of losses this season.

The outside perception of Clemson's program has also taken a nose dive this season as ESPN's Paul Finebaum ripped into Swinney and his team following their season-opening loss to Duke.

"Dabo's dynasty is done," Finebaum said at the time. "What else can anyone say? It's really been teetering for a couple years, but what happened last night is simply unexplainable. ... Dabo's nonsense after the game isn't going to impress anyone. This program is flatlining right now."

And just a few weeks later, he's looking like he may be right.

Clemson scored a grand total of seven points during Monday's loss to Duke, and those seven points only happened because the Blue Devils muffed a punt to set the Tigers up with ideal field position.

But head coach Dabo Swinney apparently liked what he saw.

"If we do what we did offensively for the rest of the year, we won't lose another game," he told reporters. "It's just that simple."

Even if Clemson does clean up the mistakes that cost it against Duke, winning every game on the rest of the schedule is a daunting task.

After all, it still has to play a Florida State team that looked like a national title contender in a season-opening win against LSU. It also has to play nationally ranked foes in Notre Dame and North Carolina, as well as potentially tricky road games against NC State and Miami.

To Swinney's credit, there were some bright spots during the loss to the Blue Devils.

Running back Will Shipley accounted for 114 yards on the ground, and the offense didn't have to punt in the entire second half. Yet it also didn't score a single point in that second half because of the mistakes it continued to make.

The Tigers moved the ball inside of Duke's 10-yard line on their first three possessions after halftime only to come away with zero points because of two lost fumbles and a blocked field goal. The other three second-half possessions ended with a Cade Klubnik interception and two turnovers on downs.

It was an abysmal display of red-zone offense in particular, although a glass half-full approach would say Clemson at least moved the ball into scoring position multiple times.

But this is a program that isn't far removed from being an annual national title contender. Now Swinney is looking for silver linings from an embarrassing 28-7 loss to Duke that left the offense leaving much to be desired.

If the Tigers don't figure things out quickly, they are going to be staring at a season with far more losses than they are accustomed to during Swinney's tenure.

If Clemson hoped to compete for a national title this season, Monday's 28-7 loss to Duke was a rude awakening for the reigning ACC champions.

Speaking to reporters after the surprise defeat, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney called it "the weirdest game I've ever been a part of."

"I've been beat," he added. "I've had my butt kicked. But that's the strangest game I've ever been a part of."

One reason the game can accurately be described as weird is Clemson lost without scoring or punting on six offensive possessions in the second half.

The Tigers' second-half possessions ended in three turnovers, two turnovers on downs and one missed field goal.

In the second half Clemson neither scored nor punted. Amazing. pic.twitter.com/qcnyf3Ywd1

— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) September 5, 2023

Two of the turnovers were on fumbles that occurred inside Duke's 10-yard line, including running back Phil Mafah getting the ball knocked out of his hand on a 1st-and-goal at the one-yard line.

Duke certainly didn't play a clean game either with two turnovers in the second quarter. It committed seven penalties that cost the team 45 yards. Riley Leonard only completed 17 of his 33 attempts for 175 yards, but he made up for it with 98 yards on the ground and a 44-yard touchdown run.

Clemson had more than 200 yards passing and rushing in the loss. Prior to Monday night, the team was 108-0 all-time when it reached both benchmarks in a single game.

In his second career start, Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik didn't inspire a lot of confidence. The sophomore finished 27-of-43 for 209 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Clemson was ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll. Duke hadn't beaten a top-10 team for the first time since 1989 in Steve Spurrier's final season with the team.

Blue Devils head coach Mike Elko is doing a terrific job with the program. They went 9-4 last season in his first year. It was their most victories in a season since 2014.

There was a time when Dabo Swinney's Clemson program was an annual national title contender.

Now it is losing to Duke by multiple scores to start the season.

The Blue Devils stunned the Tigers with a 28-7 victory on Monday at Wallace Wade Stadium, continuing the downward trend that Clemson has experienced of late under Swinney.

Clemson was a nightmare in the red zone, couldn't take advantage of Duke's mistakes and was outplayed from the opening minutes.

Social media had no shortage of reactions to a season-opening loss for Swinney and Co:

Clemsoning is back.

— Paige (@ThatSportsPaige) September 5, 2023

Dabo Swinney without a generational QB: pic.twitter.com/iXbSvkCrZt

— College Sports Only 🏈 🏀 ⚾️ (@CollegeSportsO) September 5, 2023

pic.twitter.com/6CZOaBkYDo

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 5, 2023

Clemson can't throw deep, can't tackle, and can't kick field goals.

OTHER THAN THAT...

— Matt Zemek (@MattZemek) September 5, 2023

Same energy. #ClemsonvsDuke pic.twitter.com/Kv5wVcahPF

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 5, 2023

Clemson’s offense tonight pic.twitter.com/HsP1FvwiPP

— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) September 5, 2023

I feel bad for Clemson but this is tremendous content

— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) September 5, 2023

Clemson pic.twitter.com/IEtuHx1zK9

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) September 5, 2023

I drove 40 hours to attend a Northwestern football game and Clemson is doing something even stupider right now

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) September 5, 2023

https://twitter.com/BrianMFloyd/status/1698889071194751113

Clemson in the red zone pic.twitter.com/27ns3fuq28

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 5, 2023

Dabo: pic.twitter.com/Pz4EooXQm4

— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) September 5, 2023

pic.twitter.com/awtdAIuwVB

— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) September 5, 2023

Dabo Swinney running to Oregon State to try and get DJ Uiagalelei back pic.twitter.com/ZXvNdyBhki

— AJ LaRocca (@aj_larocca) September 5, 2023

It's not the only reason, but Dabo's refusal to adapt to the portal era is coaching malpractice. It's Clemson! They could get Keon Colemans!

It's like Blackberry's CEO when the IPhone came out. "Who would possibly want a phone without a keyboard?"

(Yes, I saw that movie.)

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 5, 2023

Surrender Dabo. pic.twitter.com/zz7fQ5JQb3

— Cory Smith (@RCorySmith) September 5, 2023

as definitive "oh this dynasty is officially OVER" losses go it's hard to top Oregon trashing USC in '09. but tonight is up there.

— Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) September 5, 2023

Clemson has nobody to blame but itself for the loss. After all, this is how the team's second-half possessions unfolded:

• Reached Duke's 1-yard line before a blocked field goal
• Reached Duke's 7-yard line before losing a fumble
• Reached Duke's 1-yard line before losing a fumble
• Turnover on downs
• Interception
• Turnover on downs

Duke had plenty of miscues of its own, including a muffed punt that set up Clemson's one touchdown and a lost fumble in Tigers territory, but quarterback Riley Leonard made enough plays with his arm and legs to create some separation.

He threw for 175 yards while adding 98 on the ground, 44 of which came on a thrilling touchdown run to start the second half:

WHAT A TD RUN BY RILEY LEONARD 😱

(via @DukeFOOTBALL)
pic.twitter.com/z3TxsqvWZr

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 5, 2023

The Blue Devils never looked back from there and may have ended the Tigers' national title chances before they even got a chance to form.

As for the bigger picture, Clemson seems to be well behind the likes of Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State and other national powerhouses at this point. It went to four College Football Playoff national championship games in five years from 2015 through 2019 but has not been the same since.

Its 2020 season ended with Justin Fields throwing for six touchdowns as the Buckeyes destroyed Swinney's group in the CFP. Its 2021 season ended in the Cheez-It Bowl of all places, and its 2022 campaign ended with a blowout loss to Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.

Even reaching the Orange Bowl this season seems like a long shot after Monday's showing.

The rampant NCAA conference realignment finally appears to be slowing down.

According to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, the Big Ten and SEC are not looking to add top schools from the ACC anytime soon.

"Industry sources repeat that there is not much desire by either conference to add the likes of Clemson, Florida State, etc. Not that the ACC's seemingly 'ironclad' grant of rights agreement would allow such movement," Dodd stated.

By the 2024 season, the Big Ten and SEC will have a combined 34 teams, many of whom are among the most popular in the NCAA. Most recently, Washington and Oregon jumped from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, following the footsteps of UCLA and USC.

With Arizona, Arizona State and Utah following Colorado to join the Big 12, the Pac-12 is down to four teams: California, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State. Dodd noted that the Mountain West and the AAC are competing "for any combination" of the four remaining teams. Also, Stanford and Cal were under consideration to be added to the ACC, but both schools fell one vote shy of approval.

The constantly-shifting landscape in college sports is now raising concerns over media rights deals and revenue sharing. For example, Florida State president Rick McCullough said earlier this month that the school "will have to, at some point, consider very seriously leaving the ACC, unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution."

Dodd noted that these concerns will likely lead to a decrease in movement across conferences for the time being.

"That makes it time to ask whether rightsholders are simply tapped out," Dodd stated. "A combination of reckless realignment and budget realities have forced networks to look at the bottom line."

The Los Angeles Dodgers used their final MLB draft pick (20th round, No. 610 overall) on Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.

L.A. drafted the 6'5", 240-pound Uiagalelei as a right-handed pitcher. According to Lou Bezjak of The State, he pitched at St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California) and sported a fastball that topped out at 95 mph.

The 22-year-old Uiagalelei hasn't played baseball in college. He began his collegiate football career at Clemson in 2020 and started for the Tigers in 2021 and 2022 before transferring to Oregon State.

Last season, Uiagalelei completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 22 touchdowns (seven interceptions) and 2.521 passing yards. He added 545 rushing yards and seven scores.

Uiagalelei struggled at times in 2022 and was notably benched for Cade Klubnik in the ACC Championship Game. He entered the NCAA transfer portal and soon found a new home in Oregon State, a program on the rise after posting a 10-win season and a No. 17 spot in the Associated Press poll.

Now they can perhaps reach greater heights with Uiagalelei, the No. 2 overall prospect in the class of 2020, according to 247Sports.

Uiagalelei has underperformed to some extent after those lofty expectations, but he is absolutely capable of better play, and could certainly parlay a great year into boosting his NFL draft stock. Baseball appears to be an option for him if he ever goes that route, though, after the Dodgers took a flier on him.

Sammy Brown, a 5-star linebacker in the Class of 2024, committed to Clemson on Monday over Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

IM HOME!!!🧡💜 #GoTigers @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/OYcw2sfTaH

— sammy brown 🪐 (@sammybrown_) June 5, 2023

"So I had a meeting with [Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney] to just talk about where I'm at," Brown told Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports. "And he basically said that he wants me to commit when I'm ready. And I told him that I am ready right now. I'm pretty sure Coach Swinney jumped up onto his table when I told him."

Brown is considered the top linebacker in his recruiting class, the top player from the state of Georgia and the No. 5 overall player in the Class of 2024, according to 247Sports' rankings.

The linebacker prospect grew up as a Clemson fan, so his commitment to the Tigers doesn't come as a major surprise.

"It's almost surreal to think that I kinda kept up with them growing up, watching the players and the success," he told Wiltfong. "To now finally have the opportunity to be a part of what I grew up watching is just a blessing. I can remember taking my picture at the Dabo Swinney football camp every summer and thinking about how cool that was."

He'll bring an extremely athletic profile to the Tigers. Along with his 113 tackles, one sack, one interception and three pass breakups as a junior, he also rushed for 1,459 yards and 21 touchdowns and added 246 receiving yards and an additional three scores.

Andrew Ivins of 247Sports called Brown "one of the top overall athletes to come out of the high school ranks in recent memory," adding that he "could probably find a home somewhere at the Power Five level as a running back given how he powers his way through would-be tacklers, but tape suggests that he has a chance to be special as an off-ball linebacker."

He's also the highest-ranked linebacker in the history of 247Sports, according to Wiltfong. And he's Clemson's first 5-star recruit in the 2024 cycle, joining six 4-star prospects for the Tigers in the Class of 2024.

It's a good day for Clemson, in other words.