Dabo: Clemson did some 'really dumb stuff' in loss to Duke

Dabo Swinney did not mince words following yet another home loss on Saturday, as the coach bemoaned costly mistakes in Clemson's 46-45 setback to Duke.

"To win you gotta not lose. As simple as that," Swinney said postgame, according to the Post and Courier's Jon Blau. "You have to not lose to Clemson in order to win. That's where you start."

"We did some really, really dumb stuff that were 1,000 percent on us," added Swinney.

Despite the mistakes throughout the game, Clemson was still in prime position for a win with a seven-point lead in the final minute. It appeared the defense secured the game-clinching stop on 4th down, however, the referees called a defensive pass interference on the play to extend the drive and set Duke up inside the 5-yard line.

The Blue Devils took advantage with Nate Sheppard running in a touchdown on the next play, before the visitors gambled and successfully converted the two-point attempt to take the one-point edge.

While Swinney refused to pin the loss on that one play, he vehemently disagreed with the call on the field.

"That's one of the worst calls I've ever seen in my entire coaching career," Swinney said.

The Tigers are now 3-5 on the season and have yet to beat a power conference team at home. Swinney appeared visibly frustrated with his players throughout the course of the game, berating his secondary after they gave up a late touchdown before half.

Saturday's win marked the first time that Duke has won at Death Valley since 1980. It will particularly sting that the Tigers racked up a season-high in yards (560) and points (45) against the Blue Devils, but were unable to deliver a much-needed win..

Swinney plans to meet with first-year players and challenge them this week to pay attention to how Clemson finishes the season.

"We're gonna finish ... unless (AD) Graham (Neff) sends me packing," Swinney said.