After Saturday's narrow victory over Pitt, Dabo Swinney sounds off on officiating

Officiating has been a talking point throughout the college football season in 2024. It seems as if each week, multiple teams around the nation feel like they are robbed by the third team on the field.

Saturday, Clemson nearly saw its ACC title hopes ended by controversial officiating calls. First, linebacker Sammy Brown was lost for almost the entire second half due to a targeting foul, a penalty that is almost always debatable.

Then, late in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 17, Pitt was awarded 15 crucial yards in a strange manner. On a play that saw Pitt QB Nate Yarnell take a forceful hand to the face and head by Clemson's Dee Crayton, no flag was initially dropped by the officiating crew.

However, because a Pitt player was injured on the play, the officials then had time to confer with one another and after an extremely lengthy discussion, they decided to penalize the Tigers. That play kept alive a drive that would end when Pitt took a 20-17 lead with under two minutes to go in the game.

Those were just two of the questionable officiating moments that took place on Saturday and after the game, Swinney was asked his thoughts about the way the game was officiated.

"I've never been a part of what I was," he said, "I've never been a part of that. You know I was, I was at Notre Dame in double overtime, when was that [2020]? When they reviewed the play, changed it, and they were getting ready to snap it, and they reviewed the review. I remember the ref, the white hat guy at the time. I said, 'Are you?' He said, 'I've never been a part of it. All I can do is they're calling me from NASA, wherever they are.' I've never been a part of that and I've never been a part of what we were a part of tonight.

"Never been a part of it because...I'm not saying it was, you know, I mean, they missed the call. It was a hands-to-the-face, but you can't review hands-to-the-face. And if a guy is not hurt, I think the ball is probably snapped. So anyway, it was, I've never been part of that. I can't wait to have a conversation on that one for sure.

"So, and then I don't know what targeting is. I really don't. I don't know what though. I mean, we had a target, there was a targeting in the Cal Miami game earlier this year that, I mean, I don't know what targeting is anymore. I really don't. I've coached football. I've been doing this for a long time. I don't know what it is. It changes every week, every week. So some tough, tough breaks on both sides. There were some tough calls for them, tough calls for us.

"But to answer your question, no, I mean, I said, I said that. So first, I've never been a part of that. Guy comes from the end zone all of a sudden drops a flag, you know, it was, it was, you know, but they, then they tried to explain to me that, no, I know it feels awkward, but this is the right thing, and we were discussing it. So all you can do is just say, 'Well, okay, let's move on'. That's what we did. But again, I've never been part of that, ever."

This moment was eerily similar to a moment earlier this year in the S.E.C. when Texas played Georgia. In that game, a controversial pass interference call was waived off only after the game was delayed by fans in Austin throwing trash onto the playing field.

Though the fans at Pitt didn't resort to such unruly and drastic measures, the fact that the officials dropped a flag on Clemson only after a lengthy review that was facilitated by an injury to a player had fans around the nation crying foul. Swinney shared with the media what the officials told him after they decided to enforce the penalty.

"Well, they said they had been discussing it the whole time," he said. "I said, 'Well, why wasn't there a flag on the ground?' Throw the freaking flag, and I can live with that. But there's no flag, you know. So, I mean, I'm not sure the mechanics were right. I'll let River Run, figure all that out. But I mean, it is what it is.

"I mean, you gotta move on and play, you know, again, I don't, I don't expect them to be perfect, but, and then there were tough calls, both sides. But I've just never experienced that, ever, like ever, That was a new one, like the review of the review in 20 that was, that was the first of two unique experiences in my life, I'll write about them in my book one day."