Yes, the story of Clemson-Syracuse is marred by Clemson’s mistakes and poor decisions. But it is also marred with cheating by faking injury by Syracuse players and poor officiating and defensive penalties, which extended Syracuse’s drives. Now, we don’t claim that Dabo Swinney’s boys did not play rough; they did, but sometimes the penalties were a harsher punishment for something not so serious.

Over the course of the game, Clemson drew two roughing-the-passer flags and another unnecessary roughness in the first half alone. That’s 39 yards and three first downs, if you may not know. Ultimately, only two stood, but 30 yards is still a big deal. For a team already going through a rough patch (pun intended), those roughing calls just make the game all the more difficult. With these penalties, Syracuse managed to build its cushion, which was too big a moat for Clemson to cross. Two of these roughing penalties gave birth to an 80-yard series showing how the defense’s overaggression was turned into free yardage.

“It’s tough to play defense, honestly,” Swinney said when asked about the roughing calls, adding, “Next step, we’re gonna be all flag football… Those are massive, massive calls. We just gotta live with it.” Swinney’s words show the sentiments that matched the flow of the game. Those personal fouls on the quarterback turned a likely punt into points, and the officiating has gone to the softer side in college football. Clemson’s margin of winning was thin enough already, and those 30 yards on just one drive became a mountain to climb.

The sequence itself was pretty basic. After a 9-yard gain, Syracuse was on a third-and-short- Jahiem Lawson’s roughing call moved them to the 44. And just four snaps, a 3rd-and-14 conversion was nullified by a hit from Will Heldt that drew a second flag. Three plays later, Angeli found Darrell Gill Jr. on a 22-yard strike and touchdown. The score was 24-7, and the crowd started booing, and some fans started leaving. 

What’s next? Only resolve. Dabo cannot do anything about those calls. The calls have always been subjective until they aren’t. Now, Clemson heads to North Carolina with a clear goal to be defensive but not overpowering and go for an easy win against the struggling Belichick boys. UNC has slowly been better after the demolition from TCU, but they haven’t played a tough opponent since then. Both Clemson and UNC will be trying hard to change the conversation around the program. Clemson is almost out of playoff contention, but they won’t be giving in easily, while UNC still has hope, especially after Max Johnson has taken the center.

Finebaum’s ultimatum for Dabo Swinney

A 1-3 start has turned Clemson’s season and has found Dabo Swinney at the core of leadership conversation, or the lack thereof. But only a few noises cut through and are brash on these topics, like Paul Finebaum. After the Tigers stumbled in Week 4, Paul’s commentary surpassed criticism; it became definitive. He framed the moment as a crossroads for a coach who has seen a lot of highs in this sport.

“My advice to Dabo, and I know he doesn’t like taking advice from people like me, is to get out of there. Be quiet. Quit talking,” Finebaum said. He argued that Dabo’s public comments have “no credibility now with his fan base,” and now the great coach has become “somewhat of a laughingstock every time he opens his mouth.” Harsh, we know. But Clemson’s season until now has demanded criticisms like these. He also suggested a new route for Swinney, saying, “It’s time for him to do one of two things. It’s either consider another school… or just move. Get away from football and become a TV guy,” while calling him “very coveted” for the media route. He made it absolutely clear that Dabo’s Clemson days are over, and now he should either transition to another school or become like Urban Meyer or Nick Saban.

The harshest line of them all was, “I think it’s over at Clemson… It’s time for him to go.” Now, whether that’s a reactionary statement coming from fresh emotions after the loss, or it was a long time in the making, we might never know. But Paul’s verdict to Dabo is clear as day; it’s over for him at Clemson.