ESPN Announcer Blasted Dabo Swinney Over Weird Decision After Clemson's Late TD

This was a bad move by the Tigers' coach.
No. 11 Clemson lost at home to Louisville on Saturday night, 33-21.
No. 11 Clemson lost at home to Louisville on Saturday night, 33-21. / @ESPN
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The No. 11-ranked Clemson Tigers lost at home 33-21 on Saturday night to the Louisville Cardinals. Dabo Swinney's team is now 6-2 on the season and will fall in the new polls when they're released on Sunday.

Clemson's longtime coach made an interesting decision after the Tigers scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Instead of going for two which would have made it an 11-point game with six minutes left, they opted to kick an extra point to make it a 12-point game.

Going for two points there would have meant they just needed a touchdown and a field goal to tie the game, instead of two touchdowns.

ESPN's Bob Wischusen immediately called out Swinney for that move:

"You gotta go for two here. If you kick the extra point you’re down by 12," Wischusen explained. "This doesn’t make any sense. You go for two here to try to cut the lead to 11. ... I don’t understand in any way, shape or form the decision to not go for two points there."

He added this after the kick was good.

“You’re running out of time," Wischusen said. "You need to keep a field goal in play as one of the scores you need. The only way that a field goal factors into one of the scores you need in the last six minutes is to go for two there, cut the lead down to 11, and then you need eight more and a three. And instead, now they’re down by 12.”

Swinney offered this explanation after the game:

Anything didn't happen for Clemson, as the team ended up losing. The Tigers will look to rebound from the loss next week when they face Virginia Tech on the road.


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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.