Dabo Swinney is the most successful head coach in Clemson’s history, and yet it’s been seven years since the Tigers last tasted national championship glory. Have the recent changes in college football finally caught up with Swinney? Or is the system now designed for coaches to fail miserably? According to Dabo Swinney, it’s the latter.

In a recent interview, the Clemson coach voiced his frustration over how the emphasis on the postseason has diminished the importance of the regular season. “We’ve got 136 teams for 12 spots. We’ve made it all about the playoffs, so people are losing their jobs. People like us, you’re out of the playoffs early, and now it’s not about your season anymore… It’s not feasible. Maybe we need a 48-team (playoff),” Swinney said. Clemson lately is a prime example of this intense focus on postseason in college football.

Dabo Swinney entered the 2025 season with high hopes. Major analysts, journalists, and pundits had predicted Swinney to win the natty. Not to mention, Cade Klubnik was a leading Heisman candidate. But after losses against LSU and Georgia Tech, salvaging the season became slim for the 18th-season head coach at Clemson. Another gut-wrenching loss against Syracuse doused the rest of the hopes, and everything came crashing down ever since. But one would have expected Clemson to still fight on, despite losing playoff hopes. But that’s now what college football fans focus on now. At least according to Swinney, after the playoff expanded to 12 teams.

“What made college football special was about your season, the pageantry of your program, the relationships, getting to the postseason, and your rival games. Now, it’s all about the playoffs. But the system is set up … People are going to get fired. How many coaches have won championships in college football? Some of the best coaches to ever coach this game didn’t win a championship,” said Swinney. Despite the statement sounding like Swinney grasping at straws amid a disastrous season, the head coach is not wrong.

136 teams play in the FBS Division 1, and only one can win the national title. But is a national title the only benchmark for measuring success? For instance, at Ohio State and Michigan, no matter the result in the natty scenario, beating the other team always reigned paramount. That’s exactly what gave us the iconic rivalry. The Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler era and the Ten Year War. USC and Notre Dame’s clash of two contrasting cultures and the Iron Bowl’s high stakes. Not to mention, non-natty winner coaches like Mike Leach gave us the Air Raid offense.

That’s what college football was all about. Now? Just last year, Ryan Day won the national title despite a defeat against Michigan. But the 7th-year HC still got a whopping $12.5 million per year extension. That surely signals changing priorities in college football now. That said, despite two nattys to Dabo Swinney’s name, he still has to avoid a woeful record further in the season.’

Dabo Swinney gets a ticking clock on his head for the Week 11 game

Clemson is 3-5 on the season and has lost two consecutive games against Duke and SMU. Klubnik isn’t playing well and has just 67.5% accuracy, while the O-line disappoints the QB in every game. Not just that, Clemson’s defense is 53rd nationally, giving away 350.3 yards per game. A win then against FSU in the next game won’t be easy. And the stakes are higher now, despite Clemson already being out of playoff contention.

“If Clemson loses to FSU on Saturday night, it will mark the program’s 7th straight home loss to a Power Conference foe. If that happens, it will tie for the longest such losing streak in Clemson Football history (1907-1917),” pointed out a Clemson insider, Will Vandervort. It’s, of course, 108 years old history at stake here, and Dabo Swinney must do everything to avoid the hapless record to his name.

Clemson will host Florida State on 8th November, and by the looks of it, can win the game. For one, Florida State, too, is in a perilous position with a 4-4 record. That said, FSU’s passing offense is still ranked 28th nationally and can surprise Clemson on their bad day, which seems to be many lately. But FSU won’t be the only team that can give Dabo Swinney a woeful record. Furman also comes to Death Valley on November 16th and can do the same to Clemson (however unlikely that may seem).