Clemson rallies past North Carolina, 28-20, after boos
5 sourcesUpdated Sep 20, 2026
Clemson beat North Carolina 28-20 after trailing 17-3. Fans booed the offense and Dabo Swinney in the first half, and some left Memorial Stadium before halftime. Clemson kicked a field goal on fourth-and-goal from short yardage and trailed 17-6 at halftime. At 17-15 in the fourth, a 2-hour, 25-minute weather delay hit; Clemson then closed on a 13-0 run. Key plays included a 41-yard Tait Reynolds catch-and-run to Bryant Wesco Jr. and a 27-yard Christian Bentancur touchdown with 4:21 left. Elliot Washington II sealed it with an interception. Clemson is 2-1 (1-0 ACC); UNC fell to 2-1 (0-1 ACC). Contested: right-leaning coverage called the fourth-and-goal field goal a "cowardly" play call; other coverage described a kick from close range that drew louder boos. Swinney said, "I love my team, they got down 17-3, they never quit, they kept battling. That's what football is. I told them we've got 8 minutes, don't worry about anything that's happened, let's just play this play. Let's go win second down, let's go win third down, let's go score." He added, "You don't win many games like we just won."
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Swinney needs to fix the early game lulls or these close calls against teams like UNC will keep happening and hurt the program.
That comeback after the delay shows the team still has fight in them even after starting so slow and getting booed.
