Clemson soccer has been trending within the mistaken route for just a few years now. It could have lastly reached the underside for the Dabo Swinney period on Saturday.
The Tigers not solely misplaced, 20-6, at house to Georgia Tech, however they had been bodily dominated and utterly outplayed.
It will get even worse while you understand Georgia Tech entered the day with simply two wins and has fired 4 assistant coaches in-season.
Contemplating the opponent, the house recreation and this system’s total slide, it is perhaps the worst efficiency by a Clemson crew within the Swinney period.
It is also getting more durable and more durable to justify not making a change.
Dabo Swinney period at Clemson could have reached the underside with Georgia Tech loss
Saturday’s loss is already the fourth of the season for Clemson, making it the fourth consecutive season this system has misplaced not less than 4 video games.
That had by no means occurred at every other level within the Swinney period.
They’re additionally only one loss away from dropping not less than 5 video games in consecutive seasons. That has not occurred since his first two years on the job, all the way in which again in 2009 and 2010 when he was making an attempt to rescue this system from the mediocrity of the Tommy Bowden period, and every thing that got here earlier than it.
In between these early years and these more moderen years, Swinney turned Clemson into considered one of school soccer’s most dominant powers and a mini-dynasty between 2015 and 2019 when it performed in 4 Nationwide Championship video games in a five-year window, successful two of them.
It has been steadily downhill since then, and it’s not laborious to attract the road within the sand for when all of it modified.
All of it started with the introduction of NIL and the switch portal, and Swinney (and Clemson’s) incapability to adapt to it.
You cannot take away all the optimistic that he has completed for this system. His resume speaks for itself. Banners dangle perpetually, and Swinney helped give this system two of them. However sooner or later issues begin to get stale after 18 years.
Generally the message will get stale.
Generally a program wants a brand new voice.
Generally an individual who has been working a crew for almost twenty years doesn’t totally adapt to the altering sport.
Generally it’s all the above, or a mixture of a number of components.
It’s a story as outdated as sports activities. It’s laborious to disregard the truth that it’s taking place at Clemson.
The Tigers entered the 2025 season because the preseason No. 4 crew within the nation. Since then, they’re 13-10 total, solely 9-10 in opposition to energy 4 colleges and solely 1-3 in opposition to ranked opponents. The one win over a ranked opponent was a 20-19 win in opposition to then-No. 19-ranked Louisville late within the 2025 season.
Towards ranked opponents this season, they’re 0-2, having misplaced to LSU and Miami by an mixture rating of 92-23.
They haven’t been ranked since Week 3 of the 2025 season.
It’s simply not what Clemson has been beneath Swinney at its peak.
Annually, they appear to get farther from it. They’ve by no means appeared additional away than they do after Saturday’s recreation.
