You thought coming in, against Pitt's powerful offense, that Clemson was going to need its defense or special teams to provide some scoring to help the Tigers stay in it, maybe even win it.
As it turned out Pitt's defense got a touchdown of its own on a pick-6.
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Yep, Clemson's offense is the gift that keeps on giving to other teams through a litany of gaffes that Saturday included a third-quarter interception for a touchdown off a DJ Uiagalelei shovel pass.
The Tigers had a chance to go up big early as Brent Venables' defense was pinning down Kenny Pickett and the Panthers.
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They squandered those opportunities, including a dropped touchdown pass by Will Shipley that would've put Clemson up 14-0 in the second quarter, as a trip to an unfamiliar stadium produced results that have been quite familiar in 2021.
The Tigers are 4-3 after this 27-17 defeat, and in all six of their games against FBS competition they have failed to reach 20 points in regulation.
We'd say let that sink in, but this has long since sunk in for Clemson fans who are wondering how much worse it can get after six straight playoff runs, two national championships and four trips to the national championship game.
Normally it is fans from the other teams admiring Clemson's quarterbacks and longing for such a presence. Those roles were reversed Saturday as Pickett was the cool, efficient and precise customer who completed 25 passes on 39 attempts for 302 yards and two touchdowns and zero interceptions after nightmarish outings against the Tigers in the 2020 regular season and the 2018 ACC title game.
When it was over, Pickett said he was going to go celebrate with a cold one. Meanwhile, Clemson was trying to process the cold, hard reality that it has lost three times in seven regular-season games after losing three times in 70 regular-season games from 2015-20.
Clemson was out-gained 464-315 and was 4-of-11 on third downs while Pitt converted 10 times on 18 tries. The Tigers were down 27-10 before Uiagalelei came back in after being benched for two series and led the offense on a five play, 72-yard touchdown drive.
Clemson was hoping to cause a quick three-and-out when it kicked off and Pitt took over at its 25 with 7:56 left.
The Tigers never got the ball back as Pitt methodically moved the chains. Dabo Swinney said standing there helplessly those eight minutes and then watching Pickett take a knee was the most frustrating part of the game for him.
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Taisun Phommachanh came in for Uiagalelei after the pick-6 and was 3-of-7 for 23 yards while rushing twice for 15 yards.
Uiagalelei's Pick-6 in the opener against Georgia ended up being the difference in that game, but thereafter Swinney was ardent in his belief that his sophomore was on an upward trajectory and not far from flourishing.
Even three days before this game, Swinney scoffed at a question about Uiagalelei not being at the level that his two predecessors were at the same early stage of their careers.
He pointed out that Uiagalelei looked elite last year against Boston College and Notre Dame, and said the only difference this year is the players around him.
When the Tigers got the ball to start the third quarter down 14-7, Uiagalelei had already thrown an interception in the first quarter with the Tigers in scoring territory. And he came darned close to another one late in the first half when a Pitt defensive back got his hands on a sideline pass but couldn't bring it in.
On the third play of this drive, Uiagalelei was fortunate when he he fumbled and watched three Pitt players fail to recover it. Somehow the ball found its way to Ajou Ajou.
Four plays later, a shovel pass intended for Kobe Pace went right into the arms of a run-blitzing SirVocea Dennis and he took it the other way for the score.
Any other year in the Swinney era, a 14-point deficit isn't the end of the world.
This isn't any other year.
Clemson averaged 5.5 yards rushing on 30 carries, including 10 for 52 yards from Shipley. Uiagalelei ran for 50 yards on eight carries, and Pace had 33 yards on seven rushes.
After Pitt finally reached the end zone late in the first half to tie the score at 7-7, Clemson took over at its 25 with 3:18 on the clock. Three straight clock-stopping incomplete passes led to a punt that gave Pitt the ball at its 24 with 2:52 left.
The Panthers got a boost with a questionable pass-interference call on Trenton Simpson and later scored on fourth-and-5 when Pickett found the right vertical matchup (Taysir Mack vs. Barrett Carter) against a defense loaded up to stop something shorter.
Swinney revealed after the game that an already sadistic run of attrition has gotten even worse: Matt Bockhorst is out for the year with a torn ACL suffered Saturday. Braden Galloway is probably done for the season with a separated shoulder. And Frank Ladson is also done for the year after undergoing groin surgery Thursday.
Now the Tigers head home once again trying to figure out how to help themselves more than they're helping the competition.
This is who they are, warts and injuries and all.
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