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The Clemson football team fell in its season ending rivalry matchup to South Carolina, 17-14. Dabo Swinney believes a pair of controversial calls aided in that result.
The Tigers wound up on the wrong side of two overturned replays that potentially prevented the offense from scoring. Swinney was furious!
The first instance came in the final minute of the first half. QB Cade Klubnik appeared to find WR Bryant Wesco on a 2nd-and-10 pass to move the Tigers near midfield and a first down. It was initially ruled a catch. Replay then wiped the nine-yard play out.
Call on the field was Bryant Wesco foot was in bounds and a catch.
How in the world can you overturn this?
Not that it made a HUGE difference, but this is absolutely pathetic. https://t.co/toiB6qxKMw pic.twitter.com/D3a8HYrK23— |GC| (@_gc24) November 30, 2024
Dabo Swinney didn’t see enough evidence to overturn the call. Wesco appeared to get a left foot down in-bounds, though officials said he didn’t gain possession until after his right foot hit the edge of the sidelines. Rules analyst Matt Austin believed it to be a catch in the booth. That wasn’t the case!
Clemson would fail to score before the half, potentially representing a missed opportunity due to the overturned call. They’d fall victim to another costly replay review in the second half.
The Tigers turned the Gamecocks over with a strip of RB Raheim Sanders while holding a 14-7 lead. Unfortunately, they’d be unable to capitalize on the fumble recovery. After picking up three first downs to move within field goal range, Clemson looked ready to make it a two-score game. They then called a trick play that went as poorly as possible.
Klubnik tripped over his offensive lineman while pitching the ball to tailback Phil Mafah. Mafah then tried to save the play by pushing the ball to WR Bryant Wesco for a double reverse but was unable to do so. South Carolina recovered the loose ball to thwart another Clemson scoring opportunity.
South Carolina takes over after this was ruled a fumble on Clemson.
— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) November 30, 2024
Dabo Swinney erupted on the sidelines after the fact. He didn’t believe replay showed a fumble. Making the call more frustrating, review wasn’t put in until after Clemson had snapped the ball for the next play.
This week, Swinney continued to bash the state of officiating as it pertains to college football. He believes it’s time to hire full-time refs.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says he’s had plenty of talks with ACC head of officials Al Riveron after controversial calls this year but there’s no “public accountability” from refs. Says it’s been a “really bad year” for CFB officiating across the country.
-Chapel Fowler / X: @chapelfowler
When asked if he’d be sending the controversial plays into the league for review, he replied, “For what?” It won’t change the outcome of the game.
This came up as Dabo explained how he didn’t submit replays for review of two controversial calls vs. USC. “For what?” he says, smiling. “For what?” Says CFB “ain’t a hobby for us” and it needs full-time refs. “Right now there’s not a lot of transparency” re: officiating
-Chapel Fowler / X: @chapelfowler
Officiating has been under the microscope this season with many believing resources aren’t being sufficiently utilized to improve the issue. Dabo Swinney is the latest to push for full-time officials. We’ll see if administrators heed that advice.