Clemson Engineers Comeback Win Against UNC After Two-Hour Lightning Delay

Dabo Swinney lives to fight another day—after yet another lightning delay.

The Clemson coach, on the hot seat after a disappointing 2025–26 season and blowout season opener against LSU, looked to be in dire straits at halftime, surrounded by a chorus of boos with Clemson down 17–6.  But he engineered the Tigers’ second straight win of the year, with Clemson beating North Carolina 28–20—and perhaps buying back some time as Clemson head coach.

“You don’t win many games like we just won,” Swinney said after the game. But it was enough.

The Tigers started off lethargic against Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels, scoring just six points in the first half. Fans booed Swinney off the field after he opted for a safe field goal at the end of the quarter rather than going for a touchdown. Then they began pouring out of the stadium, signaling that frustration with their longtime coach was boiling over.

But the Tigers made a comeback in the second half and entered a mid-fourth-quarter lightning delay down just two points. This was the third lightning delay the Tigers have encountered in as many games: They experienced a two-hour delay before kickoff on the road at LSU and another two-hour delay last week at home against Georgia Southern. But Saturday’s delay was the first mid-game stoppage.

Yet again, for nearly two-and-a-half hours, the teams waited for the weather, including both lightning and torrential rain, to pass. When the team resumed play around 5:25 p.m. local time after a brief warmup, there were about eight minutes on the clock; after a Tar Heels drive, Clemson had just over four minutes to take back a win. 

By the time the Tigers secured a gutsy 28–20 comeback win, Death Valley had mostly emptied out because of the combination of lightning and frustration—a fact that Swinney alluded to in his on-field interview. But the lack of fans didn’t matter—the Tigers celebrated on the rain-soaked field.

Now, Swinney may not be in as dire straits as previously thought. The coach has been criticized for being slow to embrace college football’s newest phenomenon of “unrestricted free agency,” created through the unlimited transfer portal and revenue-sharing/NIL deals, that have helped propel multiple programs to success. But if Clemson wants to move on from Swinney, it would have to cough up a $57 million buyout—with no offset.

But at least for now, he’ll enter Week 4 with two wins under his belt—lightning be damned.

UNC’s Bill Belichick, meanwhile, faces problems of his own. Despite a better on-field showing than last year (UNC came into the game 2–0), the Tar Heels have had a tumultuous month after GM Michael Lombardi was placed on administrative leave pending a personnel investigation. Earlier this week, after Lombardi had already resigned, UNC released the findings of an investigation into the football program that led to the resignation of defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, Bill’s son.