CLEMSON – Clemson fans are frustrated.

They have every right to be.

For months they were told this was the year. This was the year their beloved Clemson Tigers were going to get back to seriously competing for another national championship.

All spring and summer, all they heard was how great the Clemson offense was going to be or how great Cade Klubnik is or how Tom Allen was going to make the defense great again.

This was the year, especially with 75 percent of last year’s production returning on offense and defense.

This was the year.

However, through three games, that has not been the case. Instead, the offense is failing at almost every area of the field, including coaching. The play calling is questionable at best, and the defense cannot get off the field.

The Tigers are 1-2, not 3-0 or even 2-1. They are 1-2 and the fans are frustrated.

Dabo Swinney says the Tigers are just two plays away, and though that might true, the fans do not want to hear it.

During his Tuesday press conference, Swinney said if the fans do not like winning then he will go somewhere else.

“If they want me gone, they’re tired of winning, they can send me on my way, because that’s all we’ve done is win,” he said. “We’ve won this league eight out of the last 10 years. Is that not good? I’m just asking. Is that good?

“I don’t know if that’s good or not, to win your league eight out of 10 years, to go to the playoffs seven out of 10 years, be in four national championships, win it twice. Yeah, we’re a little down right now. Take your shots. But I got a long memory, in case y’all don’t know.”

The fans get it Dabo. You have had a lot of success at Clemson. We all know that, and no one is questioning any of that or if you are a good coach or not.

And I can definitely tell you that no one wants you to leave.

I know for a fact the fans appreciate what you have done for Clemson, but you have to admit they have a right to be angry with you right now.

You told them how good you were going to be, not the media. You and your players, in your own way, said you had a team this year that could compete for bigger things than just an ACC Championship.

“We’re a veteran team and very experienced, got a lot of guys that have played a lot of ball. That’s really exciting, but we’ve got to go do it. We’ve got to go do it and take advantage of every opportunity we get,” Klubnik said back in July.

The Tigers have not done that, however.

Clemson is not winning right now, and that is why fans are frustrated. And that frustration is not just from this year.

In 2023, Clemson players and coaches were talking about competing for a national championship. That team opened the season with a loss to Duke and never came close to reaching its lofty expectations, as it finished with a 9-4 record.

Since a 6-1 start to the 2024 season, Clemson is just 5-5 in its last 10 games.

Breaking that down even further, the Tigers are just 2-5 against Power 4 teams with winning records during that stretch. Two of the other three wins were against The Citadel, an FCS program, and Sun Belt Conference member Troy.

In Clemson’s last five games vs. Power 4 opposition, it is 1-4.

On Saturday, the Tigers will try to avoid the program’s first 1-3 start to a season since 2004 when they host Syracuse at Memorial Stadium, as well as a third consecutive home loss to a Power 4 opponent, which has not happened since 2001.

This is why the fans are frustrated, and after being told how great of a team they were going to have this season, they have every right to be.