Rock bottom? Clemson, Dabo Swinney in a free fall after QB injuries and loss to Georgia Tech
· Yahoo Sports
Nov. 15—CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney's 250th game as Clemson's head coach will also go down as one of the Tigers' most painful and damning losses in recent memory.
The Tigers fell to Georgia Tech 20-6 at home Nov. 14. The Yellow Jackets stood at just 2-7 (1-5 ACC) entering the game. Prior to the defeat, Clemson hadn't lost to an opponent with a losing record since it fell on the road to Boston College in 2010. Through two less games than this year's Georgia Tech team, the 2010 Eagles (2-5, 2-3) already had one more win overall and in the ACC than the Yellow Jackets did entering their win over Clemson.
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Clemson finished 6-7 the year it lost to Boston College. It's the only losing season in the Swinney era.
Swinney said during the week that Georgia Tech was better than its record shows. Whether that's true is up for debate. All the Yellow Jackets had to be on Saturday was better than Clemson.
"They earned it. They deserved it," Swinney said. "We did not."
Who's playing QB against Duke?
In a loss that would have sent Clemson reeling on its own, losses in the quarterback room may have a greater impact on the rest of the season.
Tait Reynolds and Christopher Vizzina were both injured on Saturday.
Reynolds requires an MRI on his knee, and Vizzina was taken to a hospital after the game for further evaluation of his head and neck area, Swinney said. He took a hard hit on the sideline near the end of the game.
Swinney said as of roughly an hour postgame, Clemson's two options for its Nov. 20 game at Duke are this:
Fifth-year, former walk-on Trent Pearman. Everyone says he's a great guy, and Swinney said he's been great taking second-team reps in practice through Vizzina's injury. But he's thrown 29 passes in his career and three interceptions, as in just over 10 percent of his attempts are picks.
He got pulled after three drives against Georgia Tech. OK, who's next?
Freshman Brock Bradley. He was a three-star out of high school and had other solid offers besides Clemson. He's only thrown one pass this year (which he completed!).
Maybe that's better. Or at least unknown. Well, what about Chris Denson?
Swinney listed Bradley and Pearman after being asked specifically about Denson, a former QB-turned-WR, getting reps under center before Duke. So there's your answer. Evaluation starts at practice on Nov. 15.
Reynolds still needs an MRI. However, Swinney described his injury as his knee being "locked up," and not as a tear or something more serious-sounding. He also said he was told the initial reaction was the injury wouldn't be long-term.
So Clemson better hope Reynolds can somehow get healthy on a short week.
Vizzina's moment comes along a bumpy road
Rewind a second. Since when is Clemson playing two quarterbacks again?
Actually, it was three. Or four — it depends on how you define Denson's role. But it was definitely not the plan.
Reynolds made his expected start and looked pretty good for his three snaps played, picking up a 24-yard gain with his legs on the opening drive. He ran again the next play and did something he doesn't normally do: Slide to avoid contact instead of seeking it.
Unlucky. Reynolds popped up and grabbed his knee. He went down just as fast.
So Clemson had to spring for a backup.
Swinney said technically Vizzina was available, but only in an absolute emergency. Pearman got the call up. He had three empty drives — complete with double-fumble QB sneaks to turn the ball over on downs, plus a direct snap to Denson — and then...
"Break glass if needed, right?" Swinney said. "And we had to break some glass today."
Vizzina came in during the second quarter and played nearly the entire game. Without researching, it's probably the most gutsy 133-yard, one interception and zero touchdown game ever played. Vizzina was getting painkiller shots to be available for Syracuse and Georgia Tech. He ran 10 times and took four sacks Saturday on an ankle that visibly was not 100 percent.
A few weeks ago, Vizzina caught flak when Swinney said he'd turned down an offer to play late in a 37-0 win against Charleston Southern just over a month after his elbow injury. His performance should silence any questions about the sincerity of his comments from when he was named the starter for Week 1.
"I love to do this for Clemson. It's not personal for me anymore," he said before the opener. "When I think about the journey, I think about a love for Clemson."
Life can be backwards, cruel and funny all at once. Vizzina was supposed to be the starter and potentially have a year of Clemson moments before he was benched. In what could be his last game as a Tiger, he finally got his moment.
This will be the game you remember Christopher Vizzina for.
'You don't win the line of scrimmage ...'
"... You don't deserve to win the game."
Those were some of the first words out of Swinney's mouth when he took the podium after his 250th game.
The words were an understatement. Clemson was dominated by Georgia Tech on the line of scrimmage. Winning was so far from anything that took place on the Tigers' sides of football's foremost battleground.
On the offensive side, Clemson rushed 34 times through the woes of injury turmoil for a measly 86 yards. Georgia Tech entered the game allowing 222.78 rushing yards per game, ranked third-worst in Division I FBS. Clemson was down to its third-string running back in Jarvis Green, but even that's no excuse.
On the defensive end, the Tigers allowed 269 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Georgia Tech's previous season high was 165 rushing yards against Duke.
Perhaps the most damning was how Clemson handled backup QB Grady Adamson. The sophomore subbed in for Alberto Mendoza just to run — he had 19 carries vs. Clemson and one pass attempt. The only two things that happened when he was in the game were a handoff or a QB keeper.
He finished with 87 yards and a touchdown.
Unlike the offense, Clemson's defense did make some major plays. An interception from Corey Myrick and a fumble recovery by Sammy Brown helped the Tigers pick up a rare win in the turnover battle, something Swinney had preached all season. Unfortunately for Clemson, the root of its defensive problems were so foundational that playmaking made no difference in the game.
Not rock bottom
So it's bad right now in Clemson. That's a matter of fact at this point. But the inability to sit still is part human nature and part social media nurture. So as much as one might want to wallow for a second, it must be asked:
Is this rock bottom for the Tigers, for Dabo Swinney? Well, if you're a Clemson fan, let me ask you a question:
Would you rather win every other game but always lose to South Carolina? Or lose every other game but always beat South Carolina?
If you picked the latter, then yes. It can and possibly will get worse in roughly two weeks. As long as it continues like this.
Again, Reynolds' injury wasn't thought to be long-term in the immediate aftermath, pending a further update. But what if it is, and Pearman et al. are playing quarterback? And how about South Carolina coming in properly ticked off by blowing its playoff chances vs. Arkansas and (probably) getting beaten down by Georgia?
Anything can happen in a rivalry like Clemson vs. South Carolina, but it's not really a stretch to at least argue that the Gamecocks — with or without LaNorris Sellers, and with or without a playoff spot — are the better team right now.
So yeah, with a game coming up that matters more than any of them, and an outlook for Clemson that's worse than Microsoft Outlook, it can 100 percent get worse.
Will this be rock bottom? The Tigers have no choice but to find out.
"You got two choices: you quit, or you get back up and go again," Swinney said.
Go again it is.
Reach Jackson Castellano at [email protected]. Follow him on X @jaxacastellano. Want more Clemson news delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to The Tiger Take.