Before his game against Syracuse on Saturday, head coach Dabo Swinney tried to silence doubters of Clemson after a 1-2 start by saying that if the program was tired of winning, they could send him on his way.
The Tigers didn’t back up Swinney against the Orange, falling 34-21 in front of a home crowd of 80,225 fans at Memorial Stadium. It’s the first time Clemson has started 1-3 since Swinney took over as head coach in 2009.
Swinney was emotional on the field after the game, bowing his head in frustration after losing two straight ACC contests.
Clemson began the season ranked No. 4 before dropping their first contest against then-No. 9 LSU 17-10 at home. They fell out of the rankings after losing 24-21 to Georgia Tech in Week 3.
The Tigers were 17-point favorites to defeat the Orange, but their defense could not stop the Syracuse offensive attack, allowing 34 points in the first three quarters. Swinney called the loss “painful.”
“Painful. It hurt,” Swinney said. “I’m not a cyborg. This is my life. I’ve been here 23 years. I love this place. I give this place the very best I’ve got every single day.”
Swinney acknowledged that the 1-3 start was not what the team envisioned, but they plan to fight for the rest of the season. Clemson’s hopes to make the College Football Playoff are all but over unless it wins out and somehow sneaks into the ACC Championship Game with two conference losses.
The Tigers have a week off before they travel to play Bill Belichick and North Carolina on Oct. 4.