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Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney critical of officiating in South Carolina game
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- Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney critical of officiating in South Carolina game
CLEMSON — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney was critical of the officiating after the Tigers' 17-14 loss vs. South Carolina at Memorial Stadium.
On first-and-10 in the third quarter, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik pitched the ball to running back Phil Mafah , who was going to pitch it to freshman wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr., but Mafah slipped and fumbled as his knee was headed toward the ground. South Carolina defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway recovered the ball.
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Initially, the officials ruled the play as an 8-yard loss but announced the play was being automatically reviewed just as Clemson's offense snapped the ball and passed for a gain. Swinney was displeased with the review.
"We thought (Mafah) was down. All the reviews went against us today," Swinney said. "There's been some strange things that happened this year that I really don't have any explanation for."
Clemson's first overturned call happened right before halftime. Klubnik threw to Wesco for a 9-yard gain, but the play was overturned after review because Wesco didn't make the catch in bounds. The edge of his right shoe was ruled to be on the sideline stripe.
MORE: Clemson football's CFP hopes are over, more overreactions vs South Carolina
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Swinney called out officials after Clemson's win vs. Pitt in Week 12 for a targeting call and a reversed unnecessary roughness penalty. Despite the reviews Saturday, Swinney said No. 12 Clemson (9-3) had chances to defeat in-state rival No. 14 South Carolina (9-3).
"There were several questionable things out there today," Swinney said. "We still had plenty of opportunities to win the game."
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson's Dabo Swinney questions officiating in South Carolina game
