I believe that Dabo Swinney thought that Ohio State was the 11th ranked team in the country.
After all, it's the best explanation for why the Clemson Tigers reacted to the unceasing pressure that the Buckeyes were able to apply to them with a near-perfect offensive performance. You'll read in other articles about how Justin Fields, Chris Olave, and Trey Sermon had some of their best games of the season, but what's remarkable is that Clemson in general and Dabo specifically didn't seem to be able to accept what was going on.
when Dabo punted.....
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 2, 2021
4th & 2 game tied -> punt
4th & 4 down 7 points -> punt
4th & 3 down 14 points -> punt
4th & 6 down 21 points -> punt
That first 4th down came at the beginning of the 2nd quarter on Clemson's own 43 yard line. At 14-all, it's understandable at that point that Swinney may not have wanted to go for it. The second 4th down, coming on their subsequent possession, was on their 37 yard line, and maybe Dabo thought that he was too far back in his own end of the field to go for it. The next time Clemson had the ball, the half was nearly over and Clemson was again at their own 43 yard line on 4th down. Again they chose to punt. And finally, at the beginning of the 4th quarter, on their own 17 yard line, they decided to punt for the final time of the game.
Here's the problem:
when Dabo punted.....
— Chef Harry (@maseurharry) January 2, 2021
4th & 2 game tied -> punt -> OSU TD
4th & 4 down 7 points -> punt -> OSU TD
4th & 3 down 14 points -> punt -> OSU TD
4th & 6 down 21 points -> punt -> OSU TD
None of these 4th down decisions were easy to make or, at the time, the "right" call assuming (as Dabo did) that your team clearly better than their opponent. Why take a risk, why make the tough call, when your team is bound to quickly get the ball back and score on your next drive?
What Dabo Swinney failed to realize was that the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday night were much too dangerous to make repeated milquetoast choices against them offensively. He was in a desperate position from the beginning of the game, but by the time he finally recognized that fact Ohio State was up by 28 points halfway through the 4th quarter. Self-assured in their superiority, Clemson played it safe.
And Ryan Day and the Buckeyes made them pay.
