Sports

Dabo Swinney Admits Coaching Malpractice After Costly Brainfart For Sports Bettors

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iStockphoto / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Dabo Swinney took blame for Tyler Brown's brainfart.


The Clemson Tigers covered the spread in a Week 3 ACC football matchup with North Carolina thanks to a very late touchdown run by Tyler Brown. If the coaching staff had a do-over, a different result would occur.

Dabo Swinney admitted the mistake in a recent press conference. He shouldered the blame in what was a costly outcome for Tar Heels backers.

The spread, of course, has nothing to do with the head coach’s reasoning for the brainfart. Brown’s touchdown gave North Carolina a chance to tie the game on its final possession.

Still, the impacts of the decision were felt amongst college football bettors.

Clemson football covered the spread.

It was an outcome that didn’t look possible for the first 55 minutes of play. The Tigers entered as a slight three-point favorite. They then watched North Carolina jump out to a 17-3 lead.

Clemson narrowed the gap with a field goal at the end of the first half. Two more scores in the third quarter brought the score to 17-15.

UNC tacked on a fourth quarter field goal before Clemson grabbed its first lead with a four-play touchdown drive.

It appeared the game would end at 21-20. The Tigers had the ball and the lead with a minute left to play. The Tar Heels had no timeouts.

Brown then took a third-down handoff 34 yards to the house. It gave the ball back to North Carolina’s offense with a one-score deficit.

Had he intentionally gone down after getting a first down, the game would’ve effectively ended. Clemson could’ve run out the final seconds. The Tar Heels had no way of stopping the clock.

Instead, UNC got an opportunity to tie. Tyler Brown was asked about the play on Tuesday. He never thought about going down.

Dabo Swinney insists it’s because the coaching staff never informed him to do so. The coach admitted to a lack of situational awareness in the moment.

Dabo Swinney took accountability.

The play would not impact the outcome of the game. Clemson’s defense held strong to force a turnover on the final possession. The Tigers won, 28-20.

The late touchdown did, however, have major implications in Vegas. North Carolina would’ve covered the three-point spread had Brown gone down. Instead, Clemson backers got the win.

It also pushed the over/under above the total. The game was set at 44.5 points before kickoff. At 21-20, the score falls under the total.

Brown’s score put the final score 3.5 points over the total.

Hopefully Tar Heels fans burned by the touchdown were able to recoup their losses on rival NC State’s horrifically bad beat.