Dabo Swinney should probably try embracing the transfer portal and learning to excel with it, especially after his No. 14 Clemson Tigers got trounced in their season opener Saturday by No. 1 Georgia.
Last season, Clemson finished 9-4 and failed to get at least 10 wins for the first time since 2010, which was Swinney’s second season with the Tigers. Once a College Football Playoff staple, the Tigers have been shut out of the playoff for the last three seasons, and Saturday, the Tigers certainly didn’t look like a College Football Playoff contender, even with an expanded 12-team field.
But after the Bulldogs, who were 13.5-point favorites, rocked Clemson, 34-3, in Week 1 in Atlanta, it has a bit of work to do to even be considered a playoff team. The 31-point loss was the Tigers’ third-largest defeat under Swinney.
The Tigers were one of four teams — along with Army, Navy and Air Force, all of which don’t take transfers as service academies — that didn’t land a transfer player in the offseason.
Swinney recently said “it wasn’t really necessarily like an intentional thing,” but he’s also far from the most enthusiastic coach when it comes to embracing the transfer portal. As ESPN’s Georgia-Clemson broadcast noted late in the fourth quarter, Swinney’s squad has had zero starts from transfers since the portal became a thing in 2018.
Again, he should probably rethink that strategy because he may not like where college football is going, but he’ll get left behind if he doesn’t start working with the system.
During and after a lopsided game where the Tigers fell apart on both sides of the ball — particularly on defense in the second half — college football fans absolutely torched Swinney.
Dabo Swinney leaving Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/oOkhjsSqNy
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) August 31, 2024
Dabo Swinney 's refusal to use the transfer portal, negative stance toward NIL is on full display today.
The talent Georgia has compared to Clemson is night and day.
Swinney is a VCR stuck in a Blue Ray world.
— Keith Jouganatos (@KeithJouganatos) August 31, 2024
Live look at Dabo Swinney's seat. #Clemson pic.twitter.com/Gisr16QZbe
— C3KingCodais (@CodyLac) August 31, 2024
Clemson used to be Georgia not that long ago. Through stubbornness and inability to adapt, Dabo Swinney has done this to his program. You could see today coming three years ago and he never did anything to change the course.
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) August 31, 2024
The transfer portal to Dabo after this season pic.twitter.com/akb5rtCi2P
— Tony Cabrera-Steele (@_TonyCabrera) August 31, 2024
If you’re a man and I ever text you a picture of Dabo Swinney, it means I’m not changing my ways for you
— Polly Marino (@PollyMarino) August 31, 2024
Clemson fans seeing Dabo Swinney refuse to use the transfer portal every year pic.twitter.com/fwLoXHJ3ds
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) August 31, 2024
Dabo Swinney without a generational QB: pic.twitter.com/xee0q4iMUV
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) August 31, 2024
Dabo downfall always brings me joy
— Koop (@AgKoopa) August 31, 2024
Clemson's offense in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 pic.twitter.com/VdvvrbvTes
— Fifth Quarter Clemson (@FQClemson) August 31, 2024
Dabo Swinney running back in time to the transfer portal.pic.twitter.com/c6u2xguh1r
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) August 31, 2024
Dabo Swinney celebrating refusing to adapt to the new era of college football after getting stomped by Georgia
— the Sports ON Tap (@thesportsontap) August 31, 2024
And y’all thought Clemson had a chance pic.twitter.com/tFnElTZDEV
— SEC Unfiltered (@SECUnfiltered) August 31, 2024
Dabo trying to keep up with the modern college football era
pic.twitter.com/N7m4LQLlaf— doogs (@d00gs) August 31, 2024
Dabo Swinney pic.twitter.com/CvN8fchJuW
— Kirko Bangz (@MoeChella301) August 31, 2024
