Kirk Herbstreit addresses 'loud' heat on Dabo Swinney after Duke upset

Kirk Herbstreit was expecting to see a much different Clemson offense in 2023 than the one that was inconsistent throughout last season.

Instead, it was more of the same for the Tigers on offense as they managed only seven points in a 28-7 loss to Duke on Monday.

Herbstreit joined The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and was asked if it’s going to start getting “loud” around Clemson if the Tigers don’t get the season turned around.

“It was already getting loud last year. And everybody put it on DJ, right?” Herbstreit said, referring to former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.

The California native is now at Oregon State after a disappointing couple of seasons at Clemson. Uiagalelei accounted for five touchdowns in his first game with the Beavers as Oregon State pounded San Jose State 42-17.

Herbstreit was also asked about comments Dabo Swinney made to ESPN prior to the game when he stated that new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley was brought in to run the Clemson offense. To McAfee, it didn’t make much sense to hire Riley and not let him run his offense. However, Herbstreit believes Swinney is letting Riley run the show, he just used interesting wording.

“I think Dabo has a way of saying things where of course he hired Garrett Riley to bring in that kind of offensive style, right? I mean that’s why he went out and brought him in,” Herbstreit said. “I’m a little bit surprised by what he said. … He said, ‘We’re going to run the Clemson offense. Not Garrett Riley’s offense.’ I think he’s trying to say, ‘We do everything here as a team. Nobody’s an individual… it’s a collaborative effort.’ I think that’s what he was trying to say.”

Dabo Swinney evaluates what he saw from Garrett Riley in debut as Clemson OC

The Clemson offense didn’t have the performance it was hoping to or expecting to in Monday night’s 28-7 loss to Duke.

Yes, the Tigers had plenty of chances. But they ultimately scored only one touchdown in Garrett Riley‘s debut as Clemson’s offensive coordinator. Dabo Swinney spoke following Monday night’s game about what he saw from Riley and the offense against the Blue Devils.

“He did a great job. I mean he was frustrated like me. He’d probably tell you the same thing – never been a part of a game like that. It was incredibly frustrating,” Swinney said. “But I liked his poise. He just kept going and he stayed positive and he kept encouraging the guys.”

Clemson outgained Duke 422 to 374 on the night and had 29 first downs, compared to 17 for the Blue Devils. However, none of that mattered.

On its first three drives of the second half, Clemson was inside Duke’s 15. The Tigers combined for zero points on those drives thanks to a pair of fumbles and a missed field goal.

“I mean we’d go right back down the field and we would have a miscue there,” Swinney said. “But again, he gave us an opportunity to win the game. He gave us an opportunity to punch it in multiple times, and we just didn’t get it done.”