Why Clemson football's showing at Notre Dame may be Dabo Swinney's worst defeat

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney said last week that he was eager to see his team play a complete game.

“You’re always a work in progress,” Swinney said. “But we’re a team that still has its best football in front of them.”

Suffice to say Swinney's still waiting. After Saturday night’s meltdown at Notre Dame, he’s undoubtedly hoping that his team’s worst game is behind them.

Swinney admitted late Saturday night that he’s had some bad days as a head coach, but he never saw a 21-point loss at Notre Dame coming.

In fact, the beating was so thorough and decisive that it may have immediately soared to the top of Swinney’s “Most Discouraging Defeats” list.

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“In 14 years as a head coach, we’ve had bad days,” Swinney said. “And I don’t want to overstate it, but this is a very disappointing day.

“They absolutely dominated us in every facet of football, starting with coaching. Blocking, tackling, you name it. I always tell our team, ‘You get what you earn.’ Well, we earned this tonight for sure.”

Barring a steady procession of college football miracles, what Clemson most likely earned with its monumental collapse at Notre Dame Stadium was a one-way ticket out of the College Football Playoff.

The Tigers were No. 4 in last week’s initial playoff rankings, prompting many analysts to question that lofty placement. Clemson’s performance against the unranked Fighting Irish seemingly justifies those questions.

“They just physically kicked our butt,” Swinney said. “Period. The end.”

It may be the end for the Tigers’ playoff hopes, which if that comes to fruition would mark the first time that a Swinney-coached team has missed the playoff for two consecutive years.

Bottom line? It was a night of forgettable firsts for Swinney.

“We gave up a score on offense, special teams and defense,” Swinney said. “And that’s the first time that’s happened since I’ve been a head coach.

“I wish I could say that I saw it coming. We had a great week of practice, a great week of preparation, but football is a crazy game. Unfortunately there are some nights like this that you want to forget. I’m glad they’re few and far between.”

So where do the Tigers go from here?

Well, most immediately they’ll attempt to put the finishing touches on an 11-1 regular season by dispatching Louisville, Miami and South Carolina, then they have a date against the Coastal Division champion – which looks for all the world to be North Carolina – in the ACC Championship Game on the first Saturday in December.

From there? Who knows.

Perhaps an Orange Bowl berth, which is the customary reward for the ACC champ. A week in Miami in late December isn’t half bad for a one-loss season.

Although a 21-point loss to an unranked opponent this late in the season may prove to be too much of a burden on the resume, the optimists in the Clemson camp will contend that the Tigers remain mathematically alive for a playoff spot.

There are so many moving parts and so many games with playoff implications remaining in these final few weeks of the season, that anything is possible.

Swinney definitely hopes so.

“All you can do is have a good day tomorrow,” Swinney said. “You don’t know what life can bring around the corner.”

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: Dabo Swinney never saw Notre Dame domination coming