Clemson is coming off a 46-45 loss to Duke. This has caused speculation about the job security of Dabo Swinney. Still, Swinney had plenty to say about the refs after the loss. Now, he will be paying a fine for his comments.
According to Nicole Auerbach of NBCSports, Swinney will be paying a $10,000 fine and has been publicly reprimanded for his comments by the ACC.
With 5:14 left in the game, Duke took over the ball after a Clemson punt and was down 45-38. Duke drove to the Clemson 18-yard line and had a 4th and 10 play. On the play, Darian Mensah passed the ball to Que'Sean Brown. Brown and the Clemson defensive back were tangled up, but the refs threw the flag on Clemson, giving Duke a first down. Duke scored on the next play and then hit the two-point conversion to take the win.
“Some critical penalties. I don't even know what to say about the last call. Y'all saw it. It shouldn't come down to that. We had plenty of opportunities to win the game, but that's one of the worst calls I've ever seen in a game, ever, in my entire coaching career. Ever,” Swinney said after the game.
Clemson still could have stopped the touchdown and the resulting two-point conversion, but failed. While Swinney acknowledged that, he harped on the officiating.
“Swinney's postgame comments regarding the officiating were in direct violation of the ACC Sportsmanship Policy that states: ‘Public criticism of officials or public comments evaluating the officiating of particular contests is not in the best interest of intercollegiate athletics. Individuals associated with the athletics program are prohibited, therefore, from commenting while acting in an official capacity on officiating other than directly to the Conference office,” the ACC said in a statement today.
Swinney and the 3-5 Clemson Tigers need to win three of their last four games to make a bowl game. The quest begins in Week 11 with a visit from Florida State. They will then hit the road to face Louisville. Then it is a home game with Furman and a road game against South Carolina to end the season.
