Dabo Swinney says late pass interference on Clemson was ‘one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen’
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Dabo Swinney thought Clemson had held Duke on a 4th-and-10 from the Tigers’ 18 with 43 seconds remaining.
Instead, after Darian Mensah’s pass fell incomplete, Clemson’s Avieon Terrell was whistled for a pass interference call. The Blue Devils scored on the very next play and tacked on a 2-point conversion to come away with an eventual 46-45 win, their first victory in Death Valley since 1980.
Here’s a look at the play in question:
ACC Network cameras caught Swinney ripping officials after the call. While he conceded following the game that it wasn’t the sole reason the Tigers lost, he had even more to say about the officiating.
“I don’t even really know what to say,” Dabo Swinney said, according to The Athletic’s Grace Raynor. “Y’all saw it. It shouldn’t come down to that. We had plenty of opportunities to win the game. But that’s one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen in a game ever in my entire coaching career. Ever.”
The loss dropped Clemson to 3-5. The Tigers are in danger of finishing with their worst record of the Swinney era. They’re also at risk of missing a bowl for the first time since 2004. Clemson faces Florida State, Louisville, Furman, and South Carolina to close out the season.
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.
