3 Clemson Tigers most to blame for heartbreaking loss to Florida State

Clemson Tigers to blame for loss to FSU: HC Dabo Swinney

Dabo Swinney was an exceptional head coach when he was going toe-to-toe with Nick Saban's Alabama year in and year out. He didn't become a bad head coach overnight. And he wasn't totally propped up by Trevor Lawrence either.

But it seriously does look like the times have passed Swinney by.

In order to be an exceptional head coach in 2023, you have to be willing to use every part of the college football landscape at your disposal. Swinney isn't. That's why his teams have been in a steady decline since the rise of the transfer portal and NIL.

Clemson is still a decent team, but they aren't able to run with the best teams in the country like they used to do because of Swinney's stubbornness.

FSU quarterback Jordan Travis was a transfer. Keon Coleman, the receiver who caught the winning touchdown pass in overtime, was a transfer. Johnny Wilson, the receiver who led the Seminoles in receiving yards, was a transfer.

So Swinney has put Clemson at a disadvantage against every other premier team by failing to utilize the transfer portal.

On top of that, he made head-scratching decisions in the game. He decided to rely on a kicker that had come in from the cold. He let Riley complicate the critical end-of-game play calls. Hell, he insisted that Riley come in and run a "Clemson" offense even though that's been ineffective since Lawrence left.

Dabo only has himself to blame for the loss to FSU.