With Clemson’s 26-21 loss to Nebraska in the Gator Bowl on New Year’s Day, Dabo Swinney’s term as no-longer-interim coach got off to a less-than-stellar start.

As I mentioned in this spot last week, such a scenario could make for a very long off-season in Tigertown. And I think that’s going to be the case, as the Tigers and their fan base certainly have more questions than answers as they move forward in the Swinney era.

Despite the Tigers’ all-around lackluster performance in Jacksonville, all these bad vibrations could have been averted had they been able to punch the ball in from the 10-yard line in the final two minutes.

Unfortunately, by that point, Clemson had long ago completely abandoned the run, and the combination of the offensive line’s inability to protect and Cullen Harper’s propensity for taking bad sacks reared its ugly head in one final and grandiose calamity that left the Tigers with no choice but to chuck a couple of prayers into the end zone – both of which, as we know, came back unanswered.

There had been signs coming into the game that the Clemson offense had solved some of its problems up front, including a 184-yard rushing day in the win over South Carolina to close the regular season, but in the end, the Tigers’ ground game ended the season – four rushing yards against Nebraska – in much the same sorry shape as it started – zero rushing yards against Alabama.

On the other hand, there were some bright spots in the game, almost all of them on the defensive side of the ball, as Da’Quan Bowers finally emerged as the dominant force he was hyped to be, and Brandon Thompson and DeAndre McDaniel also showed flashes of becoming big-time playmakers for the Tigers.

Nonetheless, the loss of nearly all its experienced playmakers on offense, pending C.J. Spiller’s decision on whether to return for his senior season, along with the continuing struggles of the O-line calls into question just how bright the immediate future is for this program.

At least one media outlet, the Charlotte Observer, has already picked Clemson to finish dead last in the very mediocre ACC Atlantic Division in 2009, saying: “Here’s a guess that C.J. Spiller turns pro and Dabo Swinney shows his inexperience by botching the offensive coordinator hire. The Tigers still should be strong on defense, though, and quarterback Cullen Harper’s departure should help the team.”

From everything I have heard, Swinney fully intends to stand pat at offensive coordinator and have Billy Napier handle those duties, with substantial input from Dabo himself.

One wonders if that wouldn’t fall under the category of “botching the hire,” despite no actual hire being made. Although to be fair, it’s possible there simply wasn’t time to install a new system for the bowl game, and we’ll see something totally different in ’09.

But what we saw in the Gator Bowl, a gadget-laden offense that was only successful on a couple of long pass plays together with the total abandonment of the ground game is a recipe for disaster against good teams.

It was apparent it would be a long day for the offense almost immediately, as the Tigers were forced to burn a timeout prior to their very first play from scrimmage to avoid a delay-of-game penalty and then ran the same gimmicky play as originally called, which fooled absolutely no one.

As for Harper’s departure helping the team, while that may prove to be true, it’s also true that the guy set 22 school records in 2007 and entered the season rated by some pro scouts as the top senior quarterback in the country.

All in all, it was a disappointing end to a season marked by disappointment for the Tigers. And unfortunately, despite the loss of one of the best senior classes in recent memory, Clemson can’t afford for 2009 to a rebuilding season. Because if it is, we’ll see just how ‘all in’ Tiger nation is come this time next year.