Facing a 4th-and-goal from the Syracuse 5-yard line, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney sent his offense back out in search of its sixth first-half touchdown.

The Tigers led 35-7 with 14 seconds left when Tajh Boyd was sacked by Syracuse defensive tackle Jay Bromley.

After the play, SU head coach Scott Shafer erupted from the sideline, belting out obscenities toward the Clemson bench.

“F*ck you, Dabo, you motherf*cker,” Shafer appeared to say.

In the Orange’s first Atlantic Coast Conference game, it was handed a 49-14 beatdown from the No. 3 Tigers. At the time, Shafer thought Swinney was trying to run up the score, but at his postgame press conference, Shafer apologized.

“Football’s an emotional sport. Anybody that knows me, knows I’m extremely emotional, sometimes over the top,” Shafer said. “I said a few things out there today that I feel bad about. I really do.

“In the heat of the moment, they’re the same things I said on the basketball court or the football field when I was a kid on the field playing, but I’m an adult now and I need to constrain myself a little bit better.”

Shafer said in retrospect he’s “OK” with Swinney’s decision to go for it on fourth down. What he’s not OK with was his “over-the-top” yelling across the field.

“He’s competitive. I’m competitive. I’ve got all the respect in the world for him,” Shafer said. “I hope he still feels good from his side of the fence.”

Syracuse safety Durell Eskridge said that whenever a team goes for it on fourth down, a defense feels disrespected.

“Respectfully, you’re supposed to punt and you think a team’s going to punt,” Eskridge said. “So when they go for it you’re like, ‘Oh, they’re trying us.’”

After the game, Shafer and Swinney met near midfield and shook hands cordially. Shafer patted Swinney on the back and walked off of the field.

Published on October 5, 2013 at 11:20 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1