CLEMSON — With Clemson’s loss to Duke on Saturday, the Tigers’ season has hit a new low point.

Dabo Swinney’s team drops to 3-5 on the season, 2-4 in ACC play, and there are now serious questions regarding whether this team will even become bowl eligible. The loss also marked the first time Swinney has lost at home to a team from the state of North Carolina. The head coach was 23-0 in those games coming into Saturday.

Darian Mensah passed for 361 yards, including four touchdown throws, as the transfer quarterback routinely took advantage of busts on the backend of the Clemson defense.

“To win, you got to not lose,” Swinney said. “Not lose to Clemson. That is where you start. We did some really, really dumb stuff that was 1000% on us.”

After falling behind 21-7 after the first quarter, Clemson came roaring back, behind a career day from Cade Klubnik. The senior threw for a career-high 385 yards, and after his 75-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Moore early in the fourth quarter, the Tigers were in position to win its first home game against a Power-4 opponent in more than a year.

However, the defense just couldn’t come up with a stop in the game’s biggest moment. With just over five minutes left in the game, Duke went on an 11-play, 94-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a two-point conversion with just 40 seconds left, to win the game.

The Blue Devils converted two fourth downs on the game-winning drive, one by way of a controversial penalty. The result? One of the toughest locker room environments Swinney has ever experienced.

“It is the hardest part, because sometimes I think people think we don’t care,” Swinney said. “These guys care so much. One of the worst locker rooms I have ever been a part of. I have been a part of some bad ones, but there were a ton of tears. Grown men crying. Hurting. We all put so much into it.”

If the Tigers want to avoid their first losing season under Swinney, they will now have to win the four remaining regular-season games, starting on Saturday night, when Florida State travels to Memorial Stadium to take on the Tigers.

“This team should be so much better,” Swinney said. “It is hard when you feel like you are giving everything you’ve got and you are not getting the results.”