Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Clemson ran the most embarrassing fake punt

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Dec 27, 2025 1:20 PM ET

The Clemson Tigers were very much not on the same page when they attempted a fake punt in the first quarter of Saturday’s Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State.

After getting stopped on their first drive, the Tigers opted to try a fake punt on 4th and 3 from their own 32-yard line. Unfortunately, the call seemingly did not get through to Josh Sapp, who was a gunner on the play.

Sapp seemingly did not realize he was meant to catch the pass, or that it even was a pass. After the ball hits the turf, he dives on it as if trying to down a punt.

Clemson with a fake punt on the opening drive of the #PinstripeBowl…. the only problem is #5 wasn't expecting it, he went diving for the ball on the ground thinking it was a punt pic.twitter.com/eLHRrrOPGA
— (@fsh733) December 27, 2025

It felt a little early in the game for Clemson to pull out a desperate call like that. The fact that it failed in such embarrassing fashion only made it worse.

This has been a tough season for Clemson, who entered the year with championship aspirations but wound up going 7-5. Perhaps Dabo Swinney felt he had nothing to lose at this point, but that failed attempt looked a lot worse than a routine failed fake would have. Then again, considering how frustrated Swinney has been at times this season, maybe this is just darkly funny for him.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: