"Dabo Swinney fending for his life": CFB analyst drops unfiltered take on Bill Belichick's UNC facing Clemson

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney entered college football's hot seat after the Tigers went down 34-21 to the Syracuse Orange in Week 4 of college football action. After a bye week, the Tigers will clash against the headline-grabbing coach Bill Belichick's struggling North Carolina Tar Heels in ACC play in Week 6 action.

During Thursday's segment of "Pate State," CBS Sports analyst Josh Pate revealed that his betting models had the Tar Heels upsetting the beleaguered Swinney's Tigers (6:23).

"Clemson is playing UNC, what do you think the number is? 14.5 is the number," Pate said. "The model here, not me loves UNC this week. It has North Carolina inexplicably circled as one of the best bets of the week. Their offense is 134th in total yards per game, they're 113th in rush yards per game, 124th in pass yards per game, and 108th in third-down conversion percentage.

"Clemson, last you saw them, was busy toting another L. They're off a bye. It's the most desperate get right imaginable. Dabo has been fending for his life up there at the press conference podium. Clemson, if they get a slow start here, honestly, I still don't know how the upset would happen. I'd have to see it to believe it."

Dabo Swinney assigns blame for woeful season

After reaching the first round of the 12-team college football playoffs last season, coach Dabo Swinney's Clemson Tigers were ranked in the top 10 of the AP top 25 poll before the season began. After losing to the LSU Tigers, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Syracuse Orange, Swinney's team slid out of the rankings last week.

During his weekly news conference before his side faces off against the North Carolina Tar Heels, Swinney assigned the blame for the disastrous season to himself and his coaching staff.

“It’s just been a coaching failure, honestly,” Dabo Swinney said. “That’s the best way I can say it. We have just failed as coaches. I’m not taking accountability away from the players, they got accountability in this too. You’ve got some guys that have got to play better.

"They’re not just on scholarship anymore. Some of these guys are paid a lot of money to perform and everybody’s got accountability, but it’s just an absolute coaching failure. I don’t know another way to say it.

Dabo Swinney was praised for pulling a rabbit out of the hat when he led his side to an ACC championship win and the college football playoffs last season and with a daunting schedule still to come, he might need to repeat the trick once again this season.