Worst Clemson finishes under Dabo Swinney as Tigers looks to avoid ignominious history
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Clemson and longtime coach Dabo Swinney entered the 2025 season with national championship aspirations. That hasn’t quite happened.
Swinney, in his 18th season with the Tigers, is in jeopardy of missing a bowl game this season. Clemson has a 4-5 record heading into its matchup against No. 15 Louisville on Nov. 14, and also has matchups against Furman and South Carolina to end the regular season.
Swinney and Clemson, which opened the year ranked No. 6 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, dropped three of their first four games of the season against LSU, Georgia Tech and Syracuse, practically eliminating the Tigers from the College Football Playoff very early in the season.
Quarterback Cade Klubnik, who opened the season as one of the top Heisman Trophy contenders, also hasn’t looked the same in 2025. Klubnik has 2,136 passing yards with 14 touchdowns to five interceptions in eight starts this season after scoring 43 total touchdowns in 2024.
Here’s a look at Clemson’s worst seasons under Swinney, including what the 2025 Tigers need to avoid making history.
Clemson worst records under Dabo Swinney
Swinney has never missed a bowl game as Clemson’s head coach, with his worst finish coming in 2010 when the Tigers went 6-7 and fell to USF in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Swinney and the Tigers are 4-5 with three games remaining in 2025. They have to win two of their final three games against No. 15 Louisville on the road, Furman at home and archrival South Carolina on the road.
Suffice to say, Clemson is very much in jeopardy of not only missing a bowl game but having its worst season under Swinney in 18 seasons.
Dabo Swinney record by season
Here’s a look at Swinney’s year-by-year finishes at Clemson:
- 2008: 4-3 (interim)
- 2009: 9-5
- 2010: 6-7
- 2011: 10-4
- 2012: 11-2
- 2013: 11-2
- 2014: 10-3
- 2015: 14-1
- 2016: 14-1
- 2017: 12-2
- 2018: 15-0
- 2019: 14-1
- 2020: 10-2
- 2021: 10-3
- 2022: 11-3
- 2023: 9-4
- 2024: 10-4
- 2025: 4-5 (through nine games)
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Worst Clemson finishes under Dabo Swinney: How Tigers can avoid history
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