As was the case for Clemson fans everywhere, the Tigers’ 28-20 victory over North Carolina last Saturday was an emotional roller coaster for Eric Mac Lain, the former Clemson standout offensive lineman and current ACC Network analyst.

The Tigers trailed 14-3 after the first quarter, 17-3 midway through the second quarter and were down 17-6 at halftime, only to completely turn things around in the second half – especially after a 2.5-hour lightning delay, when Clemson stormed out of that break in the action to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Mac Lain admitted that during the first quarter, he was “fuming up in the West End Zone” at Memorial Stadium because how the game was unfolding felt like Clemson’s season-opening blowout loss to LSU. Mac Lain genuinely felt at halftime that there was “no hope” and the season was effectively over.

Then, suddenly, the Tigers looked like a totally different team en route to a big win in the ACC opener.

“The first quarter, I’m just sitting there and I’m saying, this feels like LSU all over again. We do not belong on the field with these guys,” Mac Lain said on the Gramlich & Mac Lain podcast. “Guys running wide open. Guys running all over us. The lines of scrimmage being reset time and time again. I’m just literally fuming up in the West End Zone. … I’m like, this is the worst-case scenario ever. Halftime comes, and I’m like, there’s just no hope. This season is just over. We might win one game. We might have just won it [vs. Georgia Southern]. That was a legitimate real feel. … Y’all, the second half was unreal. … It was fun to watch the second half. The offensive line — and y’all know I’ve been busting their ass — the offensive line for Clemson, it looked like they went and got seven new dudes that have never played before in a Clemson uniform, and were mowing guys down. They were getting to the second level. They were pancaking guys. They were pulling and hitting people and going the right way.

“I was just like, what happened? How? And why did it take this long to get here? But I’m happy it’s here. Gideon Davidson, running the right way. Like, taking good tracks, running through people. Tait [Reynolds], making great reads. Great throws. And I was like, hold on now, 11-1’s right there, baby. It was fun. It was really fun.”

Mac Lain praised the coaching staff for completely flipping the script after halftime, specifically crediting Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Chad Morris.

Mac Lain noted how Clemson’s Dabo Swinney out-coached UNC’s Bill Belichick as the Tigers rallied for 13 straight points following the lightning delay, saying Swinney “was running circles around Belichick” during the second-half turnaround.

“Clemson fans, you know what I’m talking about. There is promise, based on what I just saw,” Mac Lain said. “Whatever changed, however it changed, however guys are being coached — Chad Morris up in the booth, whatever it takes — something was different. It was a big deal. The adjustments that were made — I mean, Dabo Swinney was running circles around Belichick. That’s a defensive guy versus an offensive guy, and they totally lit them up in the second half. Guys like [Bryant] Wesco, T.J. Moore, Tyler Brown — man, I’m so happy for Tyler Brown.”

“Chad Morris was in his bag,” Mac Lain added. “Chad Morris was dialing stuff up. Counter options. Counter reads. The fake screen throw. The fake toss, which was actually the reverse run to Tyler there. He was dialing it up. It was fun to watch. And again, it was against the best NFL mind ever. That’s kinda cool. Dabo Swinney and the Tigers own Belichick. I’m all for that, every day, all day, ten times a day.”

Mac Lain knows it was a gutsy comeback win that potentially may have changed the trajectory and outlook of Clemson’s season. But he’s trying not to get overconfident or too far ahead of himself.

The Tigers will look to keep the momentum, mojo and positive vibes going when they travel to play Cal on Friday night at Cal Memorial Stadium (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

“This Friday night game for Cal got a lot more interesting to me,” he said. “Because I was in a dark place at halftime, and now I’m maybe in another dark place, I’m too confident. I need to reel it – I need to just be in the middle, the happy middle, where who knows what will happen. I’m just happy to have fun.”