Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and his program are facing heavy criticism after the lopsided season-opening, 51-10 loss at LSU this past Saturday.

The criticism is widespread, coming from fans, the media and national analysts – and even from some of Swinney’s former players themselves.

During his Tuesday press conference ahead of Saturday’s game vs. Georgia Southern, Swinney reacted to former Clemson players voicing their frustrations publicly. Swinney was specifically asked about the impact of former players criticizing the program.

“I don’t know, because I don’t read anything. I don’t hear anything. I really don’t,” Swinney said. “In my world, I just focus on what I’m doing, and I don’t pay attention to that. I’m just focused on winning this week.”

After coming into last season ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll and some predicting a national title run, Clemson finished just 7-6 in 2025, the second-worst season in the Swinney era.

Clemson entered this season unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll for the first time since 2011. The Tigers came into this season No. 23 in the preseason Coaches Poll, their lowest preseason ranking in that poll since 2011 as well, when they were unranked.

Following the 41-point drubbing at the hands of LSU — the worst loss of the Swinney era by margin of defeat, during which Clemson was outgained by nearly 500 yards — multiple former Tigers players sounded off on social media.

Former Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas wrote, “First time our preseason ranking has been right .. in a long time.”

The Tigers were whipped on the lines of scrimmage against LSU, and former tight end Jordan Leggett wrote, “Softest Clemson O-Line and D-Line play I have ever witnessed.”

Former defensive tackle DJ Reader added, “Yeah as a alum this was sad to watch.”

Former Clemson offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain also weighed in, saying the Tigers looked completely “overwhelmed” at the lines of scrimmage, and Clemson’s lack of team speed and explosiveness compared to LSU was “night and day different.”

Mac Lain also mentioned that former teammates were texting him during the game in disbelief, and he called the overall matchup “devastating” and “very frustrating” while pointing toward deeper concerns regarding talent and personnel evaluation.

Swinney acknowledged that his team deserved the criticism it has received after the loss to LSU.

“You play like that, you oughta be criticized,” Swinney said. “That was a poor performance by us.”