For Clemson, Saturday’s 22-10 loss to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl got off on the wrong foot.

Well, not really the foot. Instead of punting the ball away on their opening possession, the Tigers suffered a special teams blunder.

An ill-advised fake punt by punter Jack Smith, who threw a pass that didn’t come close to being completed, set up Penn State’s first field goal early in the first quarter. It started what was a bad afternoon for the Tigers’ special teams unit.

Swinney said on ABC’s broadcast that it was something Smith checked into, but during his postgame press conference, Swinney took “ownership” for the failed fake punt.

“I mean, just really disappointed in the miscommunication on the opening punt. It just shouldn’t have happened,” Swinney said.

“I’ll take ownership of that. But that’s not something we called. Just disappointed with that. Gave them three points.”

Offensively, Clemson (7-6) had a case of the dropsies against Penn State (7-6).

After leading the ACC in drops this season, the issue continued to plague the Tigers against the Nittany Lions. Clemson had four drops in the first half alone, and Swinney says he counted “at least seven” for the game.

“I quit counting at seven. I know there was at least seven, maybe eight,” Swinney said. “Just too many missed opportunities, and it’s hard to win those games.”