Clemson: Situation With Dabo Swinney Could 'Evaporate' This Weekend

While the pressure will be heavy for Ole Miss' Pete Golding and LSU's Lane Kiffin on Saturday, probably the most consequential contest of the college football weekend will come on Saturday when North Carolina travels to play Clemson.

Golding and Kiffin are in their first two seasons at their respective programs. A loss would be devastating for the ego, but they have time, both this season and the future, to resurect their teams from a loss. 

For Bill Belichick and Dabo Swinney, there could be no coming back from a loss in Week 3. 

Belichick is embroiled in a civil war at North Carolina. He must win to combat the negative press that has followed a 4-8 season in 2025, Michael Lombardi resigning as general manager, and Steve Belichick resigning as defensive coordinator.

Some donors are ready to fire Swinney, but there isn't a willingness to pay for his hefty $57 million buyout.

There might be more willingness to do so if Clemson loses to North Carolina.

During "Josh Pate's College Football Show" this week, the host said support for Swinney would evaporate if the Tigers lost at home on Saturday.

“But I promise you, there are people still in Dabo Swinney's corner that would evaporate," Pate said. "They would be gone if they lost to North Carolina and they started 1-2. And by the way, they weren't impressive at all against Georgia Southern last week. We were all over Georgia Southern plus 20 and a half, so I watched a lot of that game.

"Man, if they lost to Belichick, who himself was supposed to be on the way out the door and may still be for all we know. And then you know, oh dude, Miami comes in here in a few weeks. Wow, we still got so many more loseable games on this schedule.”"

Belichick has more to gain here. A win would cement some credibility for his tenure at North Carolina, even though Clemson isn't as prestigious as it was two years ago. 

A win for Swinney would silence some doubters for a few weeks until the Tigers play Miami.