CLEMSON — From time to time, we have heard Dabo Swinney say, “the proof is in the pudding.”

During Clemson’s run from 2015-’20 in the College Football Playoff, there was plenty of proof of Clemson having an elite football program. The argument was strong — 79 wins, 6 ACC Championships, 6 College Football Playoff appearances, 4 National Championship Game appearances and 2 National Championships.

However, the same argument can now be made that the Clemson Football program is no longer an elite program. And like Swinney says, “the proof is in the pudding.”

Since 2021, the Clemson Football Program has 47 wins, 2 ACC Championships and 1 CFP appearance and that is it.

Now, it is probably not fair to expect the Tigers to play for a national championship in each of the last five years like it did from 2015-’19. However, it is fair to expect the program to compete for one, and right now that is not really happening. And Dabo Swinney knows it.

You could see the look of despair on his face following Saturday’s embarrassing performance to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl. A game in which the Tigers did not look like a competent football team.

There was miscommunication. There was questionable play calling on both sides of the ball. There was a lack of execution. There were a lot of things that went wrong.

It was a disaster.

And yes, Clemson was playing without a lot of players, but so was Penn State, and the Nittany Lions were coached by an interim head coach, plus a staff full of coaches who were leaving for other programs after the game. And Penn State looked way more competent as a football team and program.

Do you want to know why Penn State dominated the Tigers in the second half of Saturday’s game at Yankee Stadium in New York, N.Y.? It had better depth than Clemson.

Why is that true?

Because Penn State, despite their struggles this season, has invested more in trying to build its roster through the transfer portal and NIL, way more than Clemson has at least.

And, as Swinney says, “the proof is in the pudding.”

When comparing the Clemson program in the pre-NIL-and-transfer-portal era to the current era, there is no comparison. The Tigers won 91.5 percent of their games in the previous five-year stretch. In the last five years since the transfer-portal and NIL took over college athletics, Clemson has won 70.1 percent of its games.

However, in the previous five-year stretch, when playing the top programs in college football, the Tigers were 14-4 (.778). In the last five seasons, they are 1-8 (.125), and that is the most telling part of all of this.

I can keep going. Clemson was 38-3 (.927) in ACC play from 2016-’20, and in the last five seasons, 29-11 (.723) which includes two 4-4 campaigns and two consecutive losses to Duke. If Duke had lost to Clemson in men’s basketball in consecutive games, I can promise you Jon Scheyer would be on the hot seat in Durham.

Guess what? After Saturday’s disappointing loss, which wrapped up an extremely disappointing season, the seat that Dabo Swinney has sat on for so long at Clemson is hot. If he does not get things turned around soon, it’s going to be too hot for him to sit on.