UVA Football: What was that BS with Dabo Swinney rubbing it in there at the end?

I can’t believe Tony Elliott shook that guy’s friggin’ hand, is my thought after the BS that Dabo Swinney perpetrated in the final couple of minutes of Clemson’s 48-31 win over Virginia on Saturday.

The story of the game, to that point, was Clemson (6-1, 5-0 ACC) overcoming a sluggish start, an early 10-3 deficit that was the result of a UVA INT in plus territory, and a dominant Clemson third quarter, in which the Tigers outgained the ‘Hoos (4-3, 2-2 ACC) 202-45.

A Nolan Hauser field goal made it 41-17 Clemson with 8:22 to go, and Elliott, a former assistant on Swinney’s staff, and was the offensive play-caller on two Clemson national championship teams, emptied his bench, going with backup QB Tony Muskett, to get Muskett some live reps.

Muskett led a nine-play, 65-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard TD pass to backup tight end Sackett Wood, and a two-point conversion pass to former Clemson tailback Kobe Pace made it 41-25 with 2:11 to go.

Clemson recovered the UVA onside-kick attempt, and could have put in its subs and worked to run out the clock, but Dabo Swinney, with a former assistant on the other sideline, sent the first-team offense back out, and the Tigers scored on a 34-yard TD pass from Cade Klubnik to first-string wideout TJ Moore to go up 48-25 with 1:54 to go.

Elliott sent Muskett and the second-team offense back out on UVA’s next possession, and Muskett hooked up with backup wideout Ethan Davies on a 65-yard pitch, catch and run TD to get the score to 48-31 with 1:39 to go.

Swinney, showing himself at this point, sent his first-team offense out again after Clemson recovered another onside kick, oddly rubbing it in on his guy.

This is what bugged me about Elliott hugging it out with Swinney afterward.

That postgame scene reminded me of when Elliott, back in Year 1, repeatedly referring to his team as “they,” not “we,” after a 24-3 loss at Illinois.

I’m guessing we need to remind Tony Elliott, three years in now, that he’s the head coach at Virginia, and not still an assistant at Clemson winning natties with his buddy Dabo.

It would be nice, Coach E, if you’d stick up for your guys when the other coach is trying to rub it in, instead of acting like the guy is your best friend in the world.

Because a guy who runs the score up on a guy who was on his staff for 11 years ain’t your friend.