Dabo Swinney Rips PI Call in Clemson Loss to Duke as 'One of the Worst' I've Ever Seen

Dabo Swinney said Saturday he felt the late defensive pass interference penalty that led to Duke's 46-45 upset win over Clemson was one of the most egregious miscalls of his career.

"Shouldn't come down to that. We had plenty of opportunities to win the game. But that's one of the worst calls I've ever seen in a game, ever, in my entire coaching career, ever, in a situation like that," Swinney said Saturday (h/t ClemsonTigerNet).

Clemson appeared to have successfully stopped Duke on the fourth down of a potential game-winning touchdown drive when Tigers cornerback Avieon Terrell was flagged.

An apparently frustrated Swinney could be seen speaking with officials after the call.

Nate Sheppard ran in a touchdown on the Blue Devils' next shot at the fourth-and-game. Quarterback Darian Mensah sealed Duke's victory by passing for a two-point conversion.

Swinney said after the game he initially thought officials were calling offensive pass interference when he saw the flag on the play.

When one reporter told Swinney he felt it looked like contact on the play had been initiated by Clemson, Swinney answered, "Yeah. I thought that's what he was calling."

"I was shocked he didn't call. I was shocked there wasn't a flag. And then when I saw the flag, I was like, 'Oh, good. They called OPI,'" Swinney said. "It didn't go our way. Must've seen something I didn't see. Maybe y'all saw it on TV, different than me."

Clemson wide receiver Antonio Williams, who posted a career-high 164 all-purpose yards and two total touchdowns against Duke, said Swinney told his team after the game they could either "cry about it" or "not put themselves in that position," per Jon Blau of the Post and Courier.

"Refs make bad calls too," Wiliams said, per Blau.

Clemson fell to 3-5 (2-4 ACC) as the program remains in danger of marking a losing record for the first time since Swinney's second season in 2010.

The Tigers have four games remaining against FSU, at No. 16 Louisville, versus non-major Furman and at South Carolina. Swinney's program will need to win at least three of those matchups in order to secure bowl eligibility.