Clemson ran one of the worst fake punts of all-time during of Saturday’s college football game against Georgia Tech. It didn’t make any sense. Zero at all.
The Tigers had 4th-and-9 from their own 20-yard-line with just over nine minutes left in the first quarter. They did not need to make a big move to get back in the game. They were not in a position where some trickery could have provided a big momentum swing.
Neither team had scored. Only 14 downs had been played.
Fifth-year senior punter Aidan Swanson lined up to boot it away from his own six-yard-line. He caught the snap with both arms extended and, for some reason, decided to take off running.
Swanson is not very fast so it was an epic failure. There was nowhere for him to go. The Yellowjackets defense wrapped him up at the 25, a solid five yards short of the first down.
Georgia Tech got great field position and proceeded to open the scoring two plays later.
The root of the fake punt is not entirely clear. Head coach Dabo Swinney is getting blamed for the terrible call. If he truly told Swanson to run on 4th-and-9 from inside the 10, it is grotesque.
That is up there with the worst, most confusing coaching decisions of all-time.
However, it may not be Swinney’s fault. Swanson may have gone rogue. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound punter may have thought he saw a hole in the defense big enough to scramble for the first down and called his own number.
Clemson’s formation and blocking scheme looked off from the moment the ball was snapped. It did not appear as though they were prepared for Swanson to take off.
Regardless of who was at fault, it could not have gone any worse. Swinney will have to address that one after the game, win or lose.