The Clemson Tigers could not have looked worse on Saturday afternoon. Despite being a 14.5-point home favorite over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Clemson still found a way to lose at home to a 2-7 team who just fired four assistant coaches on Monday, 20-6. Georgia Tech had been losers of four straight coming into this league game. By the end of regulation, we all saw who the better team was.
Although the game went sideways on the Tigers quickly because of Tait Reynolds' knee injury, as he only played one offensive series, and has never played a snap on defense. Georgia Tech had every reason to mail it in, but it was Clemson who looked like the team who had no interest playing gridiron football on Saturday afternoon. It was a referendum of a loss for Dabo Swinney, his worst one to date.
It is only fitting that the losers from this game far outweigh the winners from Clemson's perspective.
Loser: Dabo Swinney has worn out his welcome as Clemson's head coach
How does Swinney come back from this? Clemson lost at home to a 2-7 team that had not won in Death Valley since 2008. Georgia Tech is arguably Clemson's biggest rival in the ACC these days. The Ramblin' Wreck got the best of them a year ago in Atlanta. The Tigers were still playing for a chance to get to Charlotte coming in. Instead, Swinney proved to everyone that he needs to leave his post.
Although he may be a two-time national champion and the greatest college football head coach in ACC history, the game has passed Swinney by. He has no ability to impact a game on the sidelines anymore. He empowers his friends to not make a difference in the coaching department. The fanbase deserves so much better than this fecklessly decadent product it has to endure every fall Saturday.
Swinney should resign at the end of this season to go enjoy a life of faith, family, and broadcasting.
Loser: Chad Morris does not need to work for Clemson after this game
You can do anything in this world short of being an astronaut because Chad Morris is the offensive coordinator at Clemson. Imposter syndrome is stupid because people like Morris who cannot screw in a lightbulb are making millions to call the worst plays you have ever seen in your life. Down big, he called for some screens. With an immobile quarterback, Morris ran Vizzina like he was Forrest Gump.
We are watching the worst Power Four offense in the history of mankind. The worst part is Clemson's defense and special teams are quite strong, so we are getting the 2023 version of Iowa, as opposed to the 1988 installment of Kansas State. Regardless, Morris should have his key card revoked as soon as humanly possible. He still has time to get a job greeting people over at Walmart before Christmas.
If Michigan can spend $10 million to buy out Jason Beck, then Clemson can move on from Morris.
Winner: Christopher Vizzina showed so much toughness amid adversity
The stats will not do him any favors, but Christopher Vizzina competed his tail off at quarterback coming off the bench. Once Reynolds went down, and Trent Pearman was horribly ineffective, a hobbled Vizzina did his best to get Clemson on the board on one good foot. He took a beating in relief of Reynolds and Pearman. Clearly, he was not healthy enough to be playing much at all here.
Still, we saw a guy who lost his job to injury way back in Week 2 nearly force the conversation once again. Reynolds can supposedly do a lot of things, but the passing game is a bit more explosive with Vizzina manning the quarterback position. The worst part of it all is he had to scramble on a third-and-long down big late, only to take a brutal hit on the sideline because he refused to give himself up.
This was the worst game Clemson played all season, but we should remember Vizzina's grit fondly.
Loser: Trent Pearman is nothing close to a Power Four quarterback at all
Pearman may be a nice guy and a total team player, but he has no business being on a Power Four college football field. When he went into action in relief of an injured Reynolds, Clemson's offense basically went into a coma. He could not do anything at all during his handful of series running the Clemson offense. He looked small. Honestly, he looked like a lower-level, high school quarterback.
Everyone watching this game from a Clemson rooting interest was begging for either Reynolds to magically heal himself, or for Vizzina to hear his number called. Swinney did not want to go to Vizzina for the life of him, but Pearman's poor play forced his hand. We are talking about what used to be a perennial power in the ACC and across all of college football. This team has been so inert offensively.
If Pearman starts against either Duke or South Carolina, those shall be immediate Clemson losses.
Loser: Tom Allen let Georgia Tech run all over his bewildered defense
This may be a little bit harsh, but this was not Tom Allen's best game from a defensive coordinator standpoint. For Clemson to win this game, Allen's side of the ball needed to be otherworldly like it has at various points in this season. Instead, his run defense was straight-up pitiful. Georgia Tech was not proficient throwing the football at all, but got whatever it wanted, and then some, in the ground game.
Clemson did not run the ball well, or stop the run either. The Tigers needed to play old-school football to win, and could not do it. This was not the same as Clemson losing to LSU or Miami in blowouts. In all honesty, it was far more painful than the handful of defensive miscues that cost the Tigers the Virginia Tech game. Georgia Tech does not have an Ethan Grunkemeyer or a Luke Reynolds to boot.
There was no margin for error once Reynolds went down, but Allen did not help Clemson's cause.
Winner: Nolan Hauser approaches kicking history as Clemson's offense
It almost goes without saying, but Nolan Hauser is Clemson's undisputed team MVP for this season. He made two of his three field goal tries to give Clemson all six of its points on the day. Hauser may have missed one from 50-plus yards out, but it was not like Morris gave the offense its best chance to succeed on the previous play with one of his worst calls on the day. Hauser nearly bailed Morris out.
With two more made field goals, Hauser has 29 on the season. He has set a Clemson record for the most field goals made in a season, and is one away from setting an all-time record in college football. For how bad it has been for Clemson scoring points on offense this season, it has been so delightful watching Hauser go to work each and every week. He is a generational kicker on a mediocre team.
We are really watching the best kicking season of all time go to waste because of a horrible offense.
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