Dabo Swinney took the criticism, and he deserves it.
I was at a sports bar Tuesday night to watch a baseball game, and the N.C. State upset of Clemson was on the screen right beside it. Baseball is slow, so between pitches I watched most of the replay.
Mainly, I wanted to see if my reaction was right when I watched the game live on Saturday before UNC and Georgia Tech kicked off.
The Wolfpack outplayed the Tigers, who are offensively challenged with their new quarterback, whose name I cannot pronounce so I will refer to him as No. 5.
The game was tied at halftime and the teams traded touchdowns in the second half before it went into overtime. Clemson had the ball first and was lucky to score on a third-down pass, kicking the extra point for a 21-14 lead. State came back and scored on a third-down pass of its own.
The Wolfpack had the first possession of the second overtime and scored on a sensational catch in the end zone by Devin Carter. Clemson took over at the Pack 25 and made only five yards before the Tigers faced a fourth-and-5 for a first down to keep the drive alive. They called a time out and huddled with Swinney.
They only needed five yards to get a new set of downs, and I remembered thinking that’s what they would do. But, instead, No. 5 launched an almost-desperation pass toward the right corner of the end zone. As it fell incomplete, Carter-Finley Stadium emptied onto the field to celebrate State’s first win over Clemson since 2012.
Why didn’t Dabo devise a play to get the first down instead of trying to score on the fourth-and-5 from the 20- yard line. I tried to watch his press conference to see if anyone asked him, but I never heard the question.
All Dabo could say was Clemson deserved the criticism of losing two games in September for the first time in eight years. Heck, the Tigers usually lose no more than one game the entire season.
It’s no longer Deshaun Watson or Trevor Lawrence. Call the right dad-gum play, Dabo, for a less-talented quarterback, old No. 5.
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