Clemson’s lopsided loss to Georgia affords latest indictment on Dabo Swinney shunning switch portal era

ATLANTA — In a sport that continues to conform at a ferocious slip, Dabo Swinney stays regular in the turbulent sea.

College football‘s dichotomy changed into on stout present Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Clemson, this system that refuses to make consume of the switch portal, against a powerhouse of transfers and excessive college skills.  Unsurprisingly, No. 14 Clemson’s dwelling-grown skills changed into bludgeoned 34-3 by No. 1 Georgia. True now, critics pointed to Clemson’s roster — and as Swinney sat correct down to face newshounds after the sport, he knew what changed into coming.

“It would no longer matter what I advise, of us are gonna advise no matter they desire to claim,” he talked about. “We attain what’s most keen for Clemson, year in and year out. While you lose like this, they’ve acquired every true to claim no matter they desire to claim. So, advise no matter you desire to claim, write no matter you desire to jot down. That comes with it. That is excellent section of it.”

The “adapt or die” mantra has by no manner been more prevalent in the sport. Quiet, Swinney stays frustratingly steadfast in his reluctance to adapt. The ask of whether or no longer his philosophy works in this level-headed era has loomed over his program, which is now four years removed from its final appearance in the College Soccer Playoff — the same year the switch portal took the sport by storm. 

Kirby Aesthetic served yet one other reminder Saturday. Three transfers accounted for the sport’s biggest performs — and a pair of touchdowns.

In a ideal world, the portal would no longer be crutch for a coach, but or no longer it is section of the job in 2024.

“It is a long way a forced self-discipline. You wish make consume of it,” Aesthetic talked about. 

Lengthy long previous are the days of Trevor Lawrence, Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Travis Etienne and Deshaun Watson. In their set apart is a stable of trusty but no longer-rather-elite talent avid gamers on Clemson’s offense. The protection has been excellent inviting, for basically the most section, in the portal era — and it surely regarded the section of a top-10 unit in the trenches Saturday. But what plagues Clemson is the previous, when sport-breaking receivers and quarterbacks lifted the Tigers to two nationwide championships in simplest three years. For no matter reason, four- and 5-celebrity replacements haven’t panned out. As a replacement of fixing the difficulty with personnel by snagging a top-tier quarterback or receiver in the portal, Swinney invested in excessive college avid gamers and their vogue.

It is admirable, and surely appreciated in recruiting circles, but year after year of diminishing returns has placed Clemson at an inflection level. 

What makes it so rather more frustrating for fans is that Swinney has confirmed in a position to adapting. He has fired trusty assistants. A year ago, he hired basically the most neatly-most standard coordinator Garrett Riley in the sport — Garrett Riley — to bustle his offense. In the offseason, susceptible offensive line coach Matt Luke changed into brought on board.

“I believe in my coach. Ensuing from this I came here,” talked about receiver Antonio Williams. “He believes in his device of doing issues and growing avid gamers and males, On the discontinuance of the day, if there may be a characteristic that he desired to obtain, he is carried out that. He is shown that he’s going to journey fetch somebody, whether or no longer or no longer it is a coach or a player. He believes in everyone now we have here. I know I attain.”

The fact stays Clemson has no longer started a switch player in the portal era. The Tigers were furthermore basically the most keen program in the FBS to no longer add a switch in the offseason.

On the opposite sideline, a trio of transfers regarded like superstars. 

Vanderbilt switch London Humphreys caught two enormous passes, at the side of a 40-yard touchdown. Miami switch Colbie Younger scored on a 7-yard recede route. Missouri switch Dominic Lovett confirmed off his slippery hips on the perimeters, deciding on up 29 of his 33 yards after the opt. 

No player Saturday encapsulated why the portal is so well-known greater than Humphreys. When Dillon Bell suffered a cramp, Humphreys stepped in his set apart and delivered with gusto in his debut with two grabs for 64 yards. 

Georgia faced questions of its obtain in the offseason after shedding two of its top three receivers. Tight discontinuance Brock Bowers departed for the NFL as arguably basically the most keen tight discontinuance in college football ancient previous. On Saturday, a mixture of transfers and feeble possibilities picked up the weight and carried it with ease.

“Each person wants to claim guys left and there may be no longer any skills in there, but there may be so a lot skills, and now we have so a lot self belief in each man that goes accessible and steps accessible on the sphere,” talked about Carson Beck, who threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns.

In the meantime, Clemson relied on its susceptible receivers to step forward. Williams and tight discontinuance Jake Briningstool delivered with 11 combined catches. Hopes were excessive that heralded 5-celebrity freshman Bryant Wesco Jr. would shine, but he caught simplest one pass for 5 yards. Would possibly possibly furthermore the discontinuance result be diverse had Clemson merely plucked a player or two from the portal? It works for Georgia, so why no longer the Tigers?

Swinney changed into hastily to new that the narrative on the 2024 season is possibly no longer written unless December, but it surely has the same topics of Volumes 2021, 2022 and 2023. Clemson will contend in the ACC, excellent as it did after a 2-2 delivery final season, but this system is no longer shut to reaching the heights of the mid-2010s.

That is no longer any longer to claim Clemson is an furthermore-ran, but is it actually a contender? The cracks are obvious in the portal era. On Saturday, Clemson suffered its worst loss since 2013 and did no longer score a touchdown for simplest the fourth time in Swinney’s profession (214 video games) — two of these video games against Georgia.

“I surely feel immense about our team and leadership on this team. Folk may possibly possibly merely advise, ‘successfully he is excellent crazy, you excellent acquired your butt kicked,'” talked about Swinney. “A loss is a loss, I loathe shedding anytime, to anybody, anywhere. We work too onerous, so it hurts. It is gonna leave a label. This may possibly possibly be one I journey to by no manner disregard, that’s for clear, but I have in mind every loss.”

Swinney has a firm take on the here and now, but questions abound in regards to the immense describe. Time will negate if Swinney taps into the portal before it swallows him.