Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney wasn’t exactly pleased with the officiating during the 12th-ranked Tigers’ 17-14 loss to No. 15 South Carolina in the rivalry matchup Saturday at Death Valley.
“There were several questionable things out there today,” Swinney said following the game. “But we still had plenty of opportunity to win the game.”
One controversial call that went against the Tigers (9-3) came in the third quarter on the trick play involving Clemson running back Phil Mafah.
With Clemson leading 14-7 and possessing the ball at the South Carolina 32-yard line, Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik took the snap and was tripped up as he pitched the ball to Mafah.
Mafah stumbled to the ground as well while catching the pitch from Klubnik and attempting to toss the ball to wide receiver Bryant Wesco.
Mafah was initially ruled down, but the play was eventually reviewed and then the call on the field was ultimately overturned. The referees deemed that Mafah never secured the backwards pass, and thus the ball was live, resulting in a Mafah fumble that was recovered by the Gamecocks (9-3).
“It was the right situation and I think we were going to have a good play right there, and it just was a tough break,” Swinney said. “We thought he was down.”
Prior to that play being eventually reviewed, Clemson got another snap off and it looked like Klubnik had completed a pass to receiver T.J. Moore. But the play was blown dead and the ref announced that “prior to the snap, replay initiated a review of the previous play.”
There was also a call late in the second quarter that went against the Tigers. A pass from Klubnik to Wesco near the sideline was ruled complete on the field, but after review, it was ruled an incomplete pass and that Wesco’s right foot was out of bounds when he secured possession of the ball.
“All the reviews went against us today,” Swinney said. “I think we had a completed pass when they blew the whistle on that one. So, there’s been some strange things happen this year that I really don’t have any explanation for. But again, we had every opportunity. They had some tough breaks, too.”