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Dabo Swinney bashed by announcers for baffling 4th quarter decision
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Dabo Swinney and Clemson have had a terrific season in 2024. Since falling to Georgia in the opener in Atlanta, the Tigers have yet to lose a game, rattling off 6 wins in a row to take a 6-1 record and 5-0 ACC mark into Saturday’s game against Louisville.
However, the Cardinals, 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference, fell behind 7-3 in the first quarter, but opened up a 26-7 lead after three quarters at Memorial Stadium and were up 33-14 with less than 6 minutes remaining in regulation.
The Tigers, looking to make a game of it, put together a 12-play, 75-yard drive to make it 33-20. Here’s where Swinney raised eyebrows. A 2-point conversion would have made it an 11-point game, meaning Clemson would need a field goal, touchdown, and another 2-point conversion to tie the game.
Instead, Swinney elected to kick an extra point, cutting it to 33-21 and meaning the Tigers would need a pair of touchdowns.
Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick were on the call for ESPN.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Wischusen said as Riddick agreed. “I don’t understand in any way, shape, or form the decision to not go for 2 points there.”
It ultimately ended up being water under the bridge as Clemson did get the ball back but failed to score, falling to 6-2 overall and 5-1 in the ACC. Swinney’s reasoning for his decision will be interesting to hear in the postgame.
Dabo remains an idiot
down by 19, they score a TD & are down 13
Instead of going for two to cut the lead to 11 (TD + 2 pt + FG)…
…Dabo kicks the extra point to go down 12 (need 2 TDs)
announcers couldn’t believe it and destroy Dabo pic.twitter.com/OfsZDB3z29
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 3, 2024
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
