If you were hoping for answers to what all went wrong for Clemson versus LSU, Dabo Swinney did not have any of them. During his postgame press conference, he came across as a bit dumbfounded over what all transpired in Baton Rouge on Saturday night. Whatever Clemson tried to do to prepare for this game was all for naught. Worst of all, Swinney did not seem to take on the blame for this loss.
"Best thing about that one is it's over," Swinney said after Clemson's 51-10 humiliating road loss to the LSU Tigers. Just a poor performance, not what we worked for or expected. Give credit to LSU ... We just never really gave ourselves a chance to settle in. The pick-six was really big, as far as a momentum standpoint, but at the end of the day, you're not gonna win if you can't stop the run."
Yes, he was able to identify Christopher Vizzina's pick-six as a momentum shifter, as well as Clemson's inability to stop the run being so problematic throughout. However, Swinney is the one who picked Vizzina to be this team's starting quarterback. He could have ventured into the transfer portal to find a better player, but chose not to. He is also the coach who hired Tom Allen last season.
HC Dabo Swinney reacts after Clemson’s disappointing loss to Lane Kiffin and LSU to open the season pic.twitter.com/Jirlu84ZoA
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 6, 2026
Dabo Swinney only made things worse for Clemson during the postgame
There are so many painful truths we have to accept about this Clemson team. The Tigers do not have a starting quarterback of any significance. Running the football effectively continues to be an issue. Stopping the run is this team's Achilles' heel. Even worse, it does look like it is the beginning of the end for Swinney leading Clemson. He was not on the hot seat coming in, but he most certainly is now.
We are looking at a monarch seeing his once-proud empire collapse before his very eyes. Frankly, he cannot believe what he is seeing either. As opposed to staying forever in denial, the world has simply turned and left Swinney here. College football has changed umpteen times over since Clemson last played for a national title. He may be an institution, but he may need to get the pink slip or retire soon.
The worst part about all this is that Clemson looks even more disjointed than the program he took over for Tommy Bowden midseason 2008. Clemson was always going to be up against it when taking on LSU, but it should not have been a 41-point road loss. Where is the pride? Where is the passion? What is this team moving forward? Next Saturday versus Georgia Southern has to be totally different.
For now, Clemson is no longer guaranteed to be a viable team in the chaotic ACC. With the Miami Hurricanes looking like a total buzzsaw, Clemson is almost certainly dropping that game in about a month. While the Georgia Southern home opener should be winnable, the road date at Cal is menacing. To be quite frank, North Carolina may not be the worst ACC team on Clemson's schedule.
Swinney used to give Clemson confidence, but is now tearing away at the fabric of what he built.
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