CLEMSON — There is no bigger fan of Wes Goodwin than myself.

I have known Goodwin since he was a graduate assistant coach back in 2011. When it comes to breaking down offenses and understanding what kinds of defenses work against a certain offense, Goodwin shares the same kindred spirit as I do.

Back in the day, we would talk about defensive philosophy, what worked and what did not work. I love talking defense with this guy. Trust me, he knows his stuff.

That is why this past season has been a head scratcher at Clemson. Let’s just say what it is, the Clemson defense was not good this year.

The Tigers allowed 374.1 total yards per game and 5.5 yards per play. On the ground, Clemson allowed 160.6 yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry.

Let me give you some understanding on just how bad this defense was.

Last year, Clemson led the ACC in total defense (287.8 ypg), while ranking No. 8 nationally. The Tigers also ranked inside the top 10 nationally in eight other defensive categories, including pass defense (No. 8: 173.2 ypg) and interceptions (T 10th: 16).

And though its stark contrast from 2023, the numbers that are the most troubling are the rushing yards allowed.

The Tigers 160.6 rushing yards allowed per game is the worst since the 2011 team gave up 176.9 yards per game. However, the 4.7 yards allowed per carry goes back further.

First off, this year’s defense joins the 2011 and 2012 teams as the only units since 1977 to give up 4.0 or more yards per carry. But it gets worse.

The 4.7 yards per carry allowed, is the worst mark by a Clemson defense since the 1975 team allowed 5.3 yards per carry. In other words, this was a historic year for Clemson’s defense when it comes to futility.

The question is, what does Dabo Swinney do about it?

“We’re not worried about any of that stuff,” he said when asked about changes to his defensive staff following Saturday’s loss to Texas in the College Football Playoff. “We had a great year, won the (ACC) championship. We got to improve in all areas. We got an excellent staff. All those guys work really hard and well together, but we’ve got to improve everywhere. We want to get to the top. We were good enough to get the playoff, good enough to win the league, but not good enough to win it all.”

There is a lot of blame to go around.

Obviously, it starts with the head man himself. Clemson probably could have solved some of these issues by going to the transfer portal last year and pulling out an all-conference type of defensive end.

But it did not, and that is on Swinney.

You can blame Goodwin. He is the defensive coordinator.

At times this year, Goodwin made questionable decisions, like taking Sammy Brown out in the fourth quarter against South Carolina or when he was playing zone instead of press man and not run blitzing Texas when the Tigers had the Longhorns backed up deep in the fourth quarter with momentum on their side.

You can blame run-game coordinator and defensive tackles coach Nick Eason. Again, the run defense was historically bad this season and it did not seem like the Tigers ever really adjusted.

Then there are the players themselves. Besides T.J. Parker, there is not another player on the defense that live up to their potential. Sure, guys like Peter Woods, Barrett Carter, Wade Woodaz and Avieon Terrell showed flashes here and there, but they were inconsistent a lot and the tackling was poor for most of the season.

Dabo Swinney has a lot of evaluations to do before he makes any decisions on the defensive staff. However, one thing is for sure, he has to get it fixed or it could cost Clemson more than advancing in the College Football Playoff.