Bowl season in jeopardy for Clemson: Tigers' postseason hopes take hit as season bottoms out in loss to Duke

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney held it in for as long as he could before his internal thermometer finally exploded on the sideline during Saturday's 46-45 loss to Duke. Swinney's sideline tirade in the faces of his starting secondary was a microcosm of another team-wide failure during a lackluster season -- one that could be the Tigers' worst in more than two decades.

Duke's climactic first win at Clemson in 45 years featured four touchdown passes and 361 yards passing from Darian Mensah, who gave the Blue Devils the lead with a successful 2-point conversion with 40 seconds to play on a bootleg toss to Sahmir Hagans. Duke got in position to punch it in after Clemson's Aveion Terrell was called for defensive pass interference near the goal line on 4th-and-10 inside the final minute of play.

Nate Sheppard capped an 11-play, 94-yard drive -- Duke's longest of the season -- with a 3-yard touchdown run prior to Manny Diaz rolling the dice and going for the 2-point try.

Clemson (3-5) has never missed bowl season under Swinney, but that changes if Tigers fail to three of their last four games against Florida State, Louisville, Furman and South Carolina.

Clemson went 6-5 under Tommy Bowden in 2004 but declined a bowl invitation following a brawl involving multiple players at the end of a 29-7 victory over South Carolina during rivalry weekend. Bowden stuck around 3.5 more years until Swinney took over during the second half of the 2008 campaign prior to the interim tag being removed after beating the Gamecocks.

Clemson has finished with a losing record only six times in the last 50 years, only once coming under Swinney.

Clemson's losing seasons since 1975

Clemson hasn't beaten a Power Four opponent at home since Virginia on Oct. 19, 2024, a span of six losses. This is coming from a program that saw its school record 40-game home winning streak snapped only three seasons ago by South Carolina, two years after the Tigers had accomplished six straight playoff appearances with two national titles under Swinney.

Duke's explosive performance

Coming out of an open week after a home loss to SMU last month, Clemson fell behind early after Duke managed 199 yards of offense and 21 points in the opening quarter. After recovering a bit defensively to frustrate the Blue Devils on consecutive three-and-outs, the Tigers lost their 28-21 lead in the final minute of second quarter thanks to Duke's tempo.

Mensah's 43-yard home-run ball to Que'Sean Brown over the top of Clemson's two-deep marked Duke's second explosive score of the afternoon and sent Swinney into his sideline tizzy.

Duke converted a fourth-and-2 at its own 44-yard line with 31 seconds and converted on Mensah's strike after Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell dropped what would've been an interception near midfield.

Duke converted four times on fourth down in the first half, and by intermission, Mensah was 15-of-24 passing for 241 yards and four touchdowns.

Swinney's tirade was captured by TV cameras with partial audio as he scolded veterans Khalil Barnes, Ronan Hanafin and others.

Another pivotal chunk play for Duke came on its final possession, a career-best 56-yard reception from tight end Jeremy Hasley on third-and-7. He later converted a fourth-and-1 on the first play following the 2-minute warning inside the 20 before the Blue Devils took the lead.

After last month's home loss to SMU that pushed the Tigers to 3-4 on the season after being ranked inside the top five in August, Swinney pounded the table for "credibility" and what he's done in the past -- two national championships and nine ACC titles with the Tigers -- after watching his team stumble.

"I take the good with the bad," Swinney said. "I don't like it, but that's just my perspective. And I know something good will come from it. I promise you, though, I've never worked harder. And I'm going to continue to do everything I can, and we'll be back.

"We'll win more championships. We'll win more championships. All right? I promise you that. May not happen this year, but we're going to win more championships. That's all I can say. And I think we have a track record that demonstrates that."

What's the message now after yet another flat performance for one of college football's most-talented rosters?

Clemson's ACC victories have come up against North Carolina and Boston College, teams who are a combined 1-8 in league play. And the Tigers needed 27 unanswered points to take out Troy in September, a week after losing to and LSU team that has since fired coach Brian Kelly.