Booger McFarland reacts to Clemson's 1-3 start, questions how Tigers fell short of expectations

Booger McFarland is befuddled by the start to the season for Clemson. After entering the season No. 4 in the AP Poll and with national title expectations, the Tigers are just 1-3 after their first four games.

That includes a 34-21 loss against Syracuse on Saturday that dropped them to 0-2 in ACC play. With those preseason goals now seeming almost impossible to reach, McFarland took to social media to question where it all went wrong.

“How did everyone miss so bad on Clemson?” he pondered. “Including me. They have a lot of NFL talent Woods. Parker. Terrell. Williams Etc. where did we all go wrong? They are not a good team.”

Clemson trailed 34-14 heading into the fourth quarter Saturday with the outcome all but decided. Even Tigers coach Dabo Swinney seemed to know where things were headed as he gave an interview before that final quarter.

“Just want to see them finish. Just fight,” Swinney said. “We’ve missed some opportunities. Defense has played much better this half, but we missed the touchdown to TJ Moore. We’ve missed some opportunities and they’ve made some big plays. …We’ve got one more quarter. Just want to see them fight.”

Ultimately, Clemson did win the fourth quarter 7-0, but needed much more to complete the comeback. Tigers QB Cade Klubnik finished the day 37-of-60 passing for 363 yards and three touchdowns to one interception.

With two conference losses in September, Clemson faces a massive uphill battle in the ACC title race. The Tigers would essentially have to be perfect across their remaining eight games to even give themselves a fighting chance.

We’ll see whether the Tigers can bounce back. They have a bye next week before taking on North Carolina, so that should give them an opportunity to reset.

Dabo Swinney defends his job using past success Clemson has had

Swinney of course has enjoyed plenty of success over the years. He has won nine ACC Championships, with the most recent coming last season.

He has also made seven appearances in the College Football Playoff with two national championships. After last week’s loss to Georgia Tech, the coach tried to argue that should be enough for the fans to still have faith in him even amid this season’s struggles.

“I thrive in the battle, honestly. I have my whole life,” Swinney said. “Perspective is important. If they want me gone, they can send me on my way. If they’re tired of winning, they can send me on my way. I won’t stop. I’m 55. I’ll go somewhere else and win. I ain’t going to the beach.

“We’ve won this league eight of the last 10 years. Is that good? I’ve got a long memory in case y’all don’t know. This is a program that’s built to last. If you don’t believe in us after we lost just two games, you weren’t all in anyway. Hate to disappoint all the haters out there, but I have a long way to go, boys.”