‘Complete and total failure’: Paul Finebaum goes scorched earth on Dabo Swinney

The season didn't start well for No. 14 Clemson, battling the No. 1 team in all the land. The Tigers faced Georgia in Mercedes-Benz Stadium for what was the most anticipated matchup of Week 1. For two quarters, the game lived up to expectations.

UGA went into halftime with a 6-0 lead on two field goals. The nation's No. 1 overall team looked strangely vulnerable, with Clemson's stout defense keeping Heisman favorite Carson Beck at bay. When the Dawgs came out of the tunnel at halftime, however, there was a palpable shift in momentum. It quickly became clear that Kirby Smart, Mike Bobo, and the UGA brain trust won the halftime adjustments.

In the end, Georgia emerged victorious by a considerable margin — 34-3. The Bulldogs offense found its footing down the stretch while the Tigers remained frightfully impotent, leaning far too heavily on junior QB Cade Klubnik. Sometimes a Power Five quarterback just doesn't have it. That appears to be the case with Klubnik.

Clemson's vaunted defense allowed four touchdowns in the final 30 minutes while the offense ran up against the brick wall that is UGA's front line, time and time again. It wasn't particularly close, and it did little to assuage concerns about Dabo Swinney's stubbornly classic team-building philosophy. The defeat drops the Tigers to No. 25 in the latest AP poll, trailing the likes of Georgia Tech, NC State, and Louisville.

On ESPN's Get Up, college football guru Paul Finebaum uncorked a serious rant about Swinney and the Clemson program. The man did not hold back.

Paul Finebaum rips Dabo Swinney, Clemson after blowout Week 1 loss to Georgia

The narrative around Clemson has crystalized at this point. Dabo Swinney has decided to buck the trends of modern college football, building the team "his way," which means ignoring the transfer portal and prioritizing internal growth. It's a nice concept — there's a certain romantic quality to building your team in-house — but the college football landscape has shifted too drastically with NIL. Most of the best teams are built upon a foundation of quality transfers.

As Finebaum notes, several projected title contenders, such as Texas and Oregon, are reliant upon transfer quarterbacks. Klubnik has earned his stripes in the Tigers' organization, but he's just not good enough. The arm talent isn't there. The decision-making isn't sharp enough. UGA has perhaps the best defense in college football, so it's a tough barometer by which to judge quarterbacks, but Klubnik looked completely outclassed. Clemson isn't going anywhere with a medicore QB.

Swinney has already caught his share of criticism this summer. He axed live call-ins from his radio show and essentially removed the potential for on-air criticism. Swinney is trying to control the narrative around his football team, but that can only go so far in today's social media world. He is going to continue feeling the heat beneath his seat if Clemson cannot perform. If not from his direct higher-ups, then from those who purchase tickets, attend the university, and fund Swinney's salary with their support of the football team. The fans.

It's hard to imagine Clemson walking away from such an accomplished (and expensive) head coach, but the times are changin' in college football, and Swinney needs to keep up. We have seen all-time great coaches get lost in the sands of time before. Swinney runs the risk of becoming a cautionary tale if he can't adapt and evolve.