Getty Image / iStockphoto
Dabo Swinney was denied the ability to vote on Election Day due to a clerical error involving his son. While the mix-up was quickly sorted out, the Clemson football coach joked that the snafu had something to do with his team’s most recent loss.
The Tigers were beaten soundly by ACC rival Louisville on Saturday, falling 33-21 at home.
It was a disappointing result for Swinney who’d hoped to further position his program to make a run to the 12-team playoff. Clemson fell to 5-1 in conference play, and it no longer controls its own destiny in the ACC race.
They’ll need either Miami or SMU to lose at least once over the final stretch to put a potential tiebreaker scenario into play.
The setback only added to the frustrations directed at Dabo Swinney, whose teams have lost three games or more in each of the last three seasons. With Virigina Tech, Pitt, and South Carolina still remaining on the schedule, the possibility of that trend continuing is certainly present.
Last night did permanent damage to Clemson pic.twitter.com/J7ylsftmbU
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) November 4, 2024
Fans are upset, and Swinney knows it! That didn’t stop him from having a sense of humor after the fact.
Dabo Swinney joked about being exiled.
“They done voted me out of the state,” he quipped after being denied the privilege to vote on Election Day. “We’re 6-2 and 5-1 (in conference), man. They done shipped me off.”
The head coach revealed the snafu in a recent presser, saying that his son’s ballot was mistaken for his own.
Dabo Swinney and his son, Will, share the same name. The younger Swinney placed his vote last week. It led to ballot workers shutting the elder family member out when he went to do the same on Tuesday!
Swinney says that the issue’s in the process of being resolved, and that he was able to successfully file a paper ballot.
“It was quite an experience, but apparently they’re going to fix it on Friday, and me and Will, our two votes will count… I was trying to do my best and be a good citizen. Sometimes doing your best ain’t good enough.”
With the Election Day drama largely behind him, he can turn his attention to an upcoming road trip to Virginia Tech.