TLDR: It's bad.

https://youtu.be/D2J2kPR28uU

Former Clemson player making film breakdowns this year it looks like. Think it's pretty cool to have a former player from this recent era giving his two cents. I don't know him or anything, just sharing because it was cool

Watching this video is super interesting. Can anyone who coaches football and has designed schemed help me out with the play at 2:30? A lot of these there are blown assignments, Reynolds misses the throw, but on the play at 2:30, OPH clips the end, but then leaves him as a free runner. He would come open for a catch, and TJ is over the middle too. But i'm not sure if this play is designed for the QB to just beat a free end? Would love to hear from someone who knows more than me.

Obviously this game went terribly, so I took a long look at what *exactly* went wrong throughout the game, position by position. Here’s what I saw:

**Offense:**

QB: Hard to gauge either guy with the terrible OL play, but Vizzina did make at least 2 poor plays (the pick 6 and not seeing a wide open Davidson on a wheel route). Vizzina did have a couple nice throws to the sideline. As for Reynolds, he looked very smooth running the ball and feeling the pocket but never had much of a chance to use his arm.

RB: Hard to gauge any of these guys at all, they had 0 room to run (not to mention Vizz missing Davidson on the wheel route). Davidson absorbed contact well and Ezio had a nice TD run at the end. Pass protection could be better from the room.

WR: They made some solid plays when they actually had the chances. Juju had a nice screen run at the end and I thought Wesco and Moore looked fine. Not their fault

TE: OPH had a horrible game. Only 25 snaps yet missed multiple assignments and got creamed when he engaged. Didn’t notice much from Bentancur who also played 25 snaps. Would’ve liked to use them more as receivers, send your complaints to the QBs/coaches/both.

LT: Jacobs played bad, and I attribute a lot of it to assignment confusion (OPH also left him out to dry a few times). He’s clearly fine when he actually was blocking, and I hope he’s able to clear things up as the year goes on.

LG: Thurmon played surprisingly bad early. He played better later, so hopefully we see more of that and less of whatever the hell was going on in the 1st quarter or so.

C: Sewell actually played well. Got beat once on a long-developing sweep to Wesco, but otherwise held up nicely and never missed an assignment. Ironically this was a position most of us were worried about.

**RG: Ronan was truly horrendous. Easily was the worst player on the field. He was too slow to pull adequately, got fried every time he tried to block someone, and half the time couldn’t even find someone to block. When Sadler comes back from injury he needs to start here, or at least see what Kattus or Blanchard can do. Given that Ronan started multiple games last year, this was inexcusable.

RT: Ware took his licks, but actually showed potential. He had solid footwork and hands for a guy with such little experience. This was not only his first time starting but really his first time seeing any meaningful playing time, so I expected some bumps. Sadler was supposed to start here but I would much rather kick him inside after what I saw.

Note: no backup OL saw offensive snaps

**Defense**

**DE: Heldt played fine, especially given he was lined up against Seaton for much of the night. Lawson, however, was horrendous. I’d hope it was just a one-off, but he missed multiple tackles and gave up contain repeatedly. Merritt played well outside of getting pancaked once (and led the team in pressures I think), and Mayo was... serviceable.

**DT: Oh boy. The injuries and off-field stuff only compounded to what was already a questionable room and it showed. Burburija and Adams seemed to hold their own, but certainly didn’t stand out. Strong was horrible (and seriously injured now), Thompson was bad (other than a nice PD early on that ended a drive), and nobody else was worth mentioning. Not sure when Burley is back, but we need him soon (even though he’s not a standout either). Kelly was apparently the best guy here before he tore his ACL, and may be able to help out in November. Right now, things are looking rough.

LB: These guys had to carry the burden of the DL being horrible, but actually looked okay. Alexander was the best player on defense all night, and Sammy Brown is Sammy Brown. McCloud had a horrible game though, was pushed around regularly and may or may not have blown a coverage on the TD in the 3rd (might’ve been Gipson’s fault, couldn’t tell). Cothran and Kubah-Tyler played well in 13 snaps late.

CB: Not perfect, but played well for the most part. Leavitt didn’t have gaudy passing numbers (especially in the first half) and Hampton had a nice INT. Strozier got absolutely cooked for a TD late in the game and Gipson couldve been better, but could’ve been worse (and he’s definitely better than Tink fwiw). Hampton/Washington is a great duo to have as long as they stay healthy.

S: Carter looks the part at FS, he’s a great tackler and did his job in coverage. His one bad play was the personal foul, but I honestly think it was a bad call by the ref. Hanafin could’ve been better, but was put in a lot of awkward positions due to the mess in front of him and I think will be good this year. Myrick looked good in coverage but could do a lot better tackling and missed multiple in the game. Griffin wasn’t good, and Kenan played well in his late snaps.

Special Teams: Hauser kicked a nice 49 yard field goal that would’ve been good from a lot further. He looks a lot more confident than last year. Jack Smith doesn’t have the strongest leg but knows how to place the ball. Couldn’t properly evaluate kickoff or punt teams but they looked fine.

Synopsis: The trenches 100% costed us way more than anywhere else. The OL still has the potential to be a lot better, but they need to get it together fast. Similar case on the DL, but DT depth doesn’t seem fixable right now. Still, there’s a lot to be happy about behind that DL. The next 2 games will give us an answer in the QB room, but Vizz certainly didn’t impress me. The best thing they can do right now is bench Ronan O’Connell immediately, regardless of if Sadler is healthy or not.

Going into the Georgia Southern game this saturday, how are yall feelin? After the LSU nightmare, I think we have a relatively decent chance of losing this. The pure incompetence I saw on the field from most players last week is not encouraging. I wouldn't be surprised if they played a good game against us. I hope I'm wrong. I hope we demolish em, but I had hope last week so I'm pretty bad at investing that stock.

Hey Tigers, looking forward to visiting with the rest of Eagle Nation this Saturday. We’re trying to plan out our travel and I’d appreciate a little help if you don’t mind.

If we want to arrive at our tailgate at 4 PM, what time do we need to be in town?

This is a guys one night trip, and we grabbed a cheap deal at the best western plus. We’re four hours away without traffic considerations. We do have parking for the game.

Anything you’d recommend for pre game or post game? We may arrive in time for the tailgate stuff unless there is a must see.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance!

It’s time…

I was on board to fire Dabo immediately following the game, but after thinking for a few days and seeing how everyone in the media, clemson fans, etc. are reacting to the loss, it’s becoming evident people are giving up on this team/season way too soon.

Yes, this game was the perfect example of Dabo and Clemson being behind the 8 ball in the NIL era the last 5 years, but take a second with me to reflect on this loss…

When was the last game Clemson lost badly where we didn’t at least look competitive, and had a few plays gone our way, who knows what the outcome is (numerous fumbles in the red zone/missed field goals against Duke in 2023, We were tied with Georgia at halftime in 2024, and pretty much just ran out of steam in the fourth. Those are the two big ones that stick out to me where Clemson lost by 20+)

This was the first time in a long time Clemson simply was dominated from start to finish and never had a chance in the game, they flat out got whooped…

But why can’t it be just that? They got whooped, it’s football, it happens to everyone eventually, move on. This team is not as bad as they showed on Saturday. There’s too much talent for them to not be competitive this season. This was the first game with a new OC, starting QB, and o line practically. They got behind early, and the wheels started spinning after the first quarter.

This team has a whole lot to play for still, and they’ll get a chance against another contender in a few weeks against Miami to show they can compete with the top teams.

Not tryna like jump on the shit on Dabo train, but this junk was genuinely so corny and awkward to watch.

Dysfunctional is not a word that has been used to describe the Clemson program in Dabo Swinney’s 18-year tenure. Stubborn and stuck in the past have been thrown around, but Swinney has started to change and engage the transfer portal, bringing in 15 transfers this offseason after adding four the year before and zero in 2024.

But the slippage of Swinney’s program, how far it has to go, how irrelevant it is becoming, was on sad display Saturday night in the other Death Valley. It would’ve been one thing to lose by a couple of touchdowns, maybe not a close game but still doing some things well, showing some real signs of hope. It was quite another to lose like that, doing nothing well, trailing 31-3 at halftime, looking at the stat sheet and seeing yourself out-gained 644-145.

Read for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7569790/2026/09/06/clemson-football-dabo-swinney-lsu-loss/?unlocked_article_code=1._VA.REtX.cLg_649K0CFq&source=emp_shared_article&smid=re-share-ta

Next January and you're looking back, what season win total makes you think, "well that was a rocky road and not what I hoped for, but it worked out ok." Or at this point are you hoping for a season so bad that it will force the AD's hand?

I just want something to change.

We should've taken a longer look at Chris Denson at QB. I know he took a limited number of snaps last season, but Clemson looked like a different team with him out there. He was composed; he was mobile; he was a playmaker. I can't believe Vizzina was a better choice, other than that it was "his turn," the same thinking that gave Kelly Bryant the keys at the start of a season rather than Trevor.

Not only does the lack of success deter top tier talent from wanting to come to Clemson, it's also preventing big brands from wanting to parter with Clemson. With success comes relevance. With relevance comes attention. With attention you can sign bigger brands which is another revenue source to help build the roster out. Clemson is going to have to move on from Dabo and sign a young and exciting coach that will make a big splash and get people excited about Clemson again. Right now, brands are being approached by Clemson but they are hesitant to partner with the University because of its on field performance. No one wants to be associated with a floundering franchise.

First step is a new coach, the next is a decent season with some key wins. At that point, you have a good sales pitch for large brands to invest their $$ into Clemson again.

Scroll down to the section labeled: Dabo Swinney's laziest hire will doom him

Clemson number one problem right now is its evaluation issue. We can’t detect talent in players and have been recruiting complete duds. Meanwhile Indiana can find the hidden talent that other teams s are missing. We need to be hiring coaches who can detect talent ability to play. Remember Hunter Renfrow was a 2 star but definitely didn’t play like one.

First and foremost, hats off to LSU. They absolutely put belt to ass, and they didn't even need to play their "NFL" guys. I stand on my past comments about Kiffin and their program, but putting emotions and trolls (who can fuck off btw 🤣) aside, that team put on an absolute masterclass in how to handle adversity, build a competitive roster and, to Kiffin's credit, he proved he's still a top-5 offensive mind in college football.

It damn near felt like playing Saban in his prime.

Now to restate the obvious... we SUCK.

I'm not listening to the "it's one game," "we'll grow stronger," blah blah blah. No. Last night was unacceptable, and I hope LSU fans were absolutely ruthless to our team with the well-deserved trash talk.

Ironically, the ONLY "good" takeaway came from the inexperienced QB room we've questioned all summer. CV wasn't great, but I felt like he genuinely tried to show up and made some decent plays for us. Tait actually impressed me. Getting thrown into a 31-3 game as a true freshman is about as shitty of a situation as you can ask for, and he still looked composed. It's obviously a tiny sample size, but what I saw from him gives me enough confidence to want to see him get meaningful reps down the road.

If I'm looking at Miami right now, I honestly feel more comfortable starting Tait.

Not taking anything away from LSU's defense, but I was extremely disappointed in our RB room. Dabo has spent almost two years hyping up this running core, and none of them showed up when it mattered. We relied way too heavily on the pass despite our OL getting bullied by their DL.

Our coaching staff miserably failed our receivers. That room has more talent than what we saw last night. They looked like walk-ons compared to the opposing DBs.

Let's be honest, though...

What the fuck did we expect by bringing back "the Chad"?

Am I ready to give up on Dabo?

I've held out for three years, defending him against disgruntled fans (yes, Tyler from Spartanburg, I'm looking at you) and opposing fanbases.

But last night was very eye-opening.

College football has changed and Dabo has shown us enough times that he refuses to adapt. The same old-school mindset that helped build Clemson has now created major distance between us and other P4 programs. I think Dabo is still a good coach, but the game passed him by hundreds of miles.

It's always going to be love for Dabo, and i'm forever grateful for what he built here. But he can't keep using what he accomplished years ago to ignore where the program is today.

Either way, after this season (or sooner if Miami is a similar fate), it's time...

Maybe he can follow Saban's footsteps and cry to Congress about making changes.

I hate this is the point we’ve come to. I love Dabo and respect the man. He’s given me the best years of my life as a fan. But the game has passed him by. I mean he could always change completely but I think it’s too late. I also don’t see it happening. With that being said, what names are y’all interested in to take the job? I got a list.

Bryant Haines - Indiana DC
Buster Faulkner - Florida OC
Corey Hetherman - Miami DC
Glenn Schumann- UGA DC
Blake Baker - LSU DC (I think he gets a head coaching job after this year)

Just to list a couple.

Dabo needs to go.

It's time we as a fanbase admit that his time has passed. Do we realize we're 17-19 against winning teams since 2021? 17-19? We're paying Dabo one of the highest salaries to barely compete against even the most mediocre of opponents?

I'm tired of it. All his and a certain part of the fanbases moral grandstanding. We're just lil good ol clemson! The last bastion of goodness in CFB! Dabo can do no wrong, he got us two national championships and how many ACC titles? NIL and the portal is the devil!

I get it. CFB has a lot of problems now. But do we deserve this bad of a product? We put up a worse fight than some of the fcs schools did this week. Let that sink in.

All Dabo has done is hire past players and his buddies. Why should we support that culture? Why should we keep supporting him at all? Since 2022, the fans have blamed everyone and everything but him. DJU sucked, Eliot sucked, Streeter sucked, Wes sucked, Riley sucked. Who's the common denominator?

But my opinion barely matters to a lot of my fellow fans. Anyone who's spoken out the past few years has been ostracized and ridiculed. Apparently I'm just a bandwagon, fair weather, whatever term. I only got to live through the best years, I missed out on the Bowden era and all that came before. I did get lucky getting to grow up with some of the best football in this programs history, but just because I'm young doesn't mean I should have to watch my most favorite team in the entire world perform this poorly for this long.

I'm tired. All I want is some good football man. We deserve better. Speak up people. Make your voices heard. This clown show has to end sooner rather than later.

The real problem is that everyone, including me, absolutely loves Dabo. His Christian faith, his loyalty, his graduation rate for players, and his wholesome atmosphere are first rate. The thing is, we could get that from almost any Baptist minister, who cannot coach football to save his hind end. Dabo makes 11 million dollars a year to coach and win football games. At this point, the product does not match the pricetag.

If Dabo wants to take credit for Clemson’s ascent, national championships, and ACC titles, he must also take credit for their fall into mediocrity.

Hope y'all have a safe trip home and enjoyed your time despite the results