Is ESPN personality Paul Finebaum stunned by the upset loss that previously 11th-ranked Clemson suffered in Week 10?

Finebaum joined ESPN anchor/studio host Matt Barrie on The Matt Barrie Show to recap the latest week of college football action, and Finebaum was asked if he’s shocked that Louisville defeated Dabo Swinney’s team, 33-21, on Saturday night at Death Valley.

“I mean I was, because I sat here a week ago and gave praise to Dabo Swinney, which may have been the worst thing to ever happen to him,” Finebaum said. “I know I’m injecting myself into the narrative here. But Matt, I felt like I was doing the right thing on The Matt Barrie Show, doing something I had never done before, and now I have to eat it. I mean, Louisville – you know more about them than I do – they’ve had moments, but that was an amazing night.”

The latest comments from Finebaum, a notorious critic of Swinney and his program, come on the heels of him actually giving Swinney some credit for helping the Tigers bounce back following their season-opening loss to Georgia.

Of course, Clemson (6-2, 5-1 ACC) had won six straight games before losing to Louisville.

“Maybe one of the biggest surprises I’ve had this season is watching Clemson get a lot better,” Finebaum said after Week 9, when the Tigers had an open date. “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’s ACC Championship and College Football Playoff hopes took a serious hit with Saturday’s loss, and Swinney’s team will now need outside help as they no longer control their own destiny.

With Clemson going down to Louisville and Pittsburgh falling to SMU in Week 10, Miami (9-0, 5-0 ACC) and SMU (8-1, 5-0) are now the only remaining ACC teams undefeated in conference play.

“Louisville’s a three-loss team that you don’t want to mess with, considering their losses are all (by) a touchdown (to) Notre Dame, Miami (and SMU)… You don’t want to mess with them,” Barrie said. “We saw it last night. So Clemson, the ACC… Miami, SMU, they seem to be right there for the teams that are going to meet for the conference championship. It’s a great story in and of itself with SMU.”

Clemson will try to get back on track next Saturday when it heads to Blacksburg, Va., to take on Virginia Tech (3:30 p.m., ESPN). The Hokies lost at Syracuse in overtime on Saturday.

–Photo courtesy Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

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