A brutal blowout loss to LSU signals the end of an era, as critics argue the Clemson Tigers' outdated roster building has finally left them behind.
The Clemson Tigers suffered a demoralizing defeat in Baton Rouge over the weekend, losing 51-10 to LSU.
Clemson entered the game on Saturday night looking to prove it was still a force in college football under head coach Dabo Swinney. As the clock struck all zeros early on Sunday morning, Swinney and Clemson lost any benefit of the doubt that its model could sustain success in the modern era of college football.
During "Josh Pate's College Football Show" on Sunday, the host suggested the sun is setting on Swinney's prestige with Clemson.
“Because there's no doubt after last night," Pate said. "I mean, I love Dabo Swinney, and I fully respect what he's done at Clemson.
There's no doubt, man. The book closed, and it closed a while back. It's just that if you were a skeptic, and you really wanted to, you could convince yourself, oh, things just went wrong for us, man.”
During the offseason, Swinney defended his record at Clemson, arguing that while last season was bad, he knew how to right the ship and get the Tigers back into College Football Playoff contention. He was happy with the roster he built, but said they were a "bunch of nobodies" who needed to break out this season.
Pate thinks Clemson's roster is much worse this season than what it had in 2025.
“No, it just turns out he was telling the truth," Pate said. "They got a bunch of nobodies. It just turns out all that happened last year was they missed their window, and now the roster is worse.
"It was glaring. So I don't know how anyone denies that at this point. They've scored 10 points or less in five of their last six openers, by the way.”
Clemson has been unable to hang with the big boys for most of this decade. The sad part about this is that Saturday's result against LSU wasn't stunning.
Clemson could very well still win eight or nine games thanks to a favorable schedule. But they're not a threat to win the national championship or ACC, and they might never be again under Swinney unless he makes real changes to his program.
