The ACC fined Clemson $10,000 and issued a public reprimand for coach Dabo Swinney following his comments criticizing the officiating in Saturday's loss to Duke.
Swinney took issue with a pass interference penalty against Clemson defensive back Avieon Terrell on fourth-and-10 that extended Duke's eventual game-winning touchdown drive. Duke trailed 42-35 and had reached Clemon's 18-yard line with 49 seconds left.
Terrell and Duke's Que'Sean Brown were tangled up on the pass play from Darian Mensah but the penalty went to Terrell, setting up first-and-goal. Duke scored on the next play, a Nate Sheppard 3-yard run, and converted a two-point conversion to take a 46-45 lead that held up.
Swinney said he saw an offensive pass interference foul on the play.
"Some critical penalties," Swinney said. "I don't even know what to say about the last call. Y'all saw it. It shouldn't come down to that. We had plenty of opportunities to win the game, but that's one of the worst calls I've ever seen in a game, ever, in my entire coaching career. Ever."
Swinney added that Clemson should have won the game in spite of the call.
In a statement, the ACC said, "Swinney's postgame comments regarding the officiating were in direct violation of the ACC Sportsmanship Policy that states: 'Public criticism of officials or public comments evaluating the officiating of particular contests is not in the best interest of intercollegiate athletics. Individuals associated with the athletics program are prohibited, therefore, from commenting while acting in an official capacity on officiating other than directly to the Conference office.'"
Clemson fell to 3-5 with the loss.
