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Paul Finebaum reacts to Clemson's upset loss to Georgia Tech: 'They're not coming back'

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax5 hours agoBarkleyTruax
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Paul Finebaum - © Ken Ruinard / staff, The Greenville News via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Clemson is 1-2 to begin a college football season for the first time since 2010. The Tigers dropped their season opener to LSU at home, and were upset 24-21 on the road against Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Paul Finebaum condemned the Tigers for their Week 3 performance against the Yellow Jackets. After a poor start to the 2025 season, Finebaum revealed his outlook on the rest of Clemson’s year.

“Last year, they found their way back in but that was a weaker ACC than this year,” Finebaum said during SportsCenter on Sunday morning. “I mean, you don’t want to ever write somebody off this early, but why why would that stop me from writing somebody off? I’m writing them off. They’re out. They’re not coming back.”

The Tigers lost it’s highly-anticipated season opener against LSU 17-10 on its home field, while they followed that up with a 27-16 win over Troy. Though, Clemson trailed 16-0 to begin the game before scoring the next 27 points.

Clemson was on the verge of facing a similar deficit to begin Saturday’s matchup, trailing 13-0 against the Yellow Jackets before the Tigers scored their first touchdown. Their first scoring drive was their final of the half, which spanned 16 plays and 75 yards across 6:57 of game clock. It left Georgia Tech with less than a minute to work with to end the half.

In the end, it would be Georgia Tech with the ball on the final possession and the game tied. They marched 38 yards down the field over the final three minutes of regulation, positioning themselves in line to kick the eventual 55-yard game-winning field.

Despite the loss, Clemson out-gained Georgia Tech on offense 381 yards to 358. However, the Tigers gave up the only two turnovers during the matchup. In the end, the early deficit coupled with turnovers and a well-managed final drive that caused the Yellow Jackets to send Clemson back to Death Valley with an upset loss.

Clemson will look to put a halt to their slow start to the season during its Week 4 home stand against Syracuse on Saturday. Looking ahead, the Tigers still have matchups against SMU (last year’s ACC title game), Florida State, Louisville and South Carolina on the docket before the end of the season.

For now, the Tigers’ sights are set one the Orange. Kickoff is set for Noon ET on Sept. 20 live on ESPN.