"What happened to Dabo's dynasty?" Paul Finebaum calls out Clemson’s SEC struggles after Week 1 loss to LSU

Paul Finebaum was among the many analysts who predicted Clemson would defeat LSU in Week 1. However, the Tigers’ 17-10 loss to LSU has cast doubt on their 2025-26 playoff prospects.

After the game, Finebaum admitted that he had been misled by reports from those who observed Clemson’s practices, and he is no longer inclined to entertain any boasts about Dabo Swinney’s program.

On The Paul Finebaum Show, the ESPN analyst spoke with a Clemson fan, Chris from South Carolina, who attempted to defend the program's performance. However, Finebaum made it clear that his patience had run thin.

"Your program is now 0-4 in the last two seasons against the SEC," Finebaum said. "That's a big zero in case you were wondering. What happened to the pride? What happened to Dabo's dynasty?"

Finebaum had been so confident in Clemson that he predicted LSU would struggle and even said that Brian Kelly’s tenure in Baton Rouge might quickly become “miserable.” Instead, his predictions fell flat, and he even received a playful jab from LSU’s coach.

On ESPN’s Get Up, Finebaum acknowledged his disappointment.

“I was all in on Clemson," Finebaum said. "This is the fourth straight loss to an SEC team, and that hurts the credibility of the program, which I thought had overcome all the doomsday dynasty talk by people like me,” Finebaum said.

“So it’s a shattering loss for them. Their path back is not that difficult because of the schedule, other than maybe South Carolina at the end of the season, at South Carolina, we’ll see.”

Paul Finebaum criticizes Clemson QB Cade Klubnik’s struggles against LSU

Paul Finebaum previously listed Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik as a top Heisman contender, but he expressed disappointment after Klubnik’s subpar performance against LSU. Klubnik threw for 230 yards with no touchdowns and one interception on Saturday.

On "The Paul Finebaum Show", Finebaum didn’t hold back.

“I’ve seen a lot of good players just look terrible in that opener,” Finebaum said on Tuesday. “By the way, one of them was probably the most experienced one playing on Saturday, and that was Cade Klubnik. He was awful.”

In the 2024 season, Klubnik completed 63.4% of his passes for 3,639 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions, while adding 463 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns.