Following Week 9 of the college football season, ESPN personality Paul Finebaum joined ESPN anchor/studio host Matt Barrie on the Matt Barrie Show to discuss various topics in college football, including Clemson’s resurgence.

Clemson fans might be surprised to hear that Finebaum, a notorious critic of Dabo Swinney and his program, actually gave Swinney some credit for the Tigers turning their season around after the opening loss to Georgia in Atlanta on Aug. 31.

“Maybe one of the biggest surprises I’ve had this season is watching Clemson get a lot better,” Finebaum said. “It’s still hard to measure them against some of the schools that they’re beating. But to Dabo Swinney’s credit, I mean, I led the parade ruling them out after Labor Day.”

Clemson (6-1, 5-0 ACC) has won six consecutive games since the lopsided 34-3 loss to the Bulldogs. The Tigers enter their Week 10 home game vs. Louisville ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25 and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll.

Of course, Swinney has caught a lot of heat for his transfer portal approach and the fact Clemson was one of only four FBS programs (Army, Navy, Air Force) to not take a transfer during the 2024 portal cycle.

Replying to Finebaum’s comments about Clemson’s resurgence, Barrie said he believes how Swinney goes about running his program will ultimately be “incredibly victorious.”

“I say this hesitantly, but I say it with some conviction – I think at the end of the day, the Dabo Swinney way is going to be incredibly victorious,” Barrie said. “Because look at the opposite end of that spectrum… Mike Norvell and Florida State went all portal. Dabo’s like, ‘Not for me, I’d rather know the guys that I recruited and I brought in.’ It might be slow to take. But if they go win the ACC and are in the College Football Playoff, he can sustain the Dabo way while everyone’s dabbling in the portal, and he might have the last laugh. I mean, it’s really phenomenal to watch.”

Coming off an open date in Week 9, the Tigers will try to continue their momentum and stay unbeaten in conference play on Saturday when they welcome Louisville (5-3, 3-2 ACC) to Death Valley. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!