Raleigh, North Carolina — The pass that was tipped and returned by N.C. State linebacker Payton Wilson for a 15-yard touchdown in the third quarter was not completed by Clemson coach Dabo Swinney.
In the first quarter, Wolfpack running back Kevin Concepcion broke loose for a 50-yard gallop. Swinney was quick to close the gap and made the tackle that prevented Concepcion from breaking for a second, 72-yard touchdown.
However, a national championship-winning coach was unable to shift the blame following the Tigers’ startling 24-17 loss in Carter-Finley Stadium on October 28, which knocked them to 4-4 for the first time since 2010.
Merely inadequate, Swinney remarked. “Mostly by me.”
The bar Clemson set for itself in 2016 and ’18, when it reached the pinnacle of college football, has remained unachievable in 2023.
For the majority of the season, the Tigers appeared to be losing ground on its side, consistently turning the ball over with excruciating regularity. However, the Tigers appeared to collapse in Raleigh, the scene of an agonizing double-overtime loss in 2021, the first of several heartbreaking defeats.
Following two ACC games in which it scored 13 points apiece, N.C. State (5-3, 2-2) jumped out to a 24-7 lead in the third quarter thanks to pick-six by Wilson and Concepcion’s second breakaway.
At some point, Clemson (4-4, 2-4) demonstrated offensive proficiency. However, it’s already too late.
The Tigers are now one loss away.
The No. 1 way to win a game is not lose a game, don’t beat yourself, do some of the little things better,” Swinney said. “Right now, we’re not doing that. And that’s 100 percent my responsibility. There’s not much more I can say.”
What went wrong
Given the Tigers’ struggles on offense, any lead can seem infinitely wider than it actually is. And it was a game of catch-up for Clemson from the very beginning.
