Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he was in the middle of a postgame fracas after South Carolina planted its flag at midfield following a 17-14 win in Death Valley on Saturday, describing it as "dangerous" and vowing to "make sure that doesn't happen anymore."
That was one of several postgame melees across the country following road team victories in rivalry games, including Michigan at Ohio State -- where pepper spray was deployed to defuse the situation -- NC State at North Carolina and Florida at Florida State.
On Sunday, Swinney called the incidents "a bad look for college football."
Because Clemson welcomes fans onto the field after every game in a tradition known as "Gathering at the Paw," there were more than coaches and players involved in the postgame scene Saturday - adding to Swinney's concern.
"I was dead in the middle of it and lucky to get out alive," Swinney said during a Zoom call previewing its ACC championship game matchup against SMU. "It was scary, and it was dangerous, and we've got to make sure that doesn't happen anymore."
Swinney noted it was important not to be hypocritical on the issue, either, saying he was disappointed when a player on his team did the same thing last year at Williams-Brice Stadium following a 16-7 Clemson win.
He said he plans to speak with South Carolina coach Shane Beamer to ensure planting flags no longer happens following wins on the road in their annual rivalry game.
"It just shouldn't happen," Swinney said. "People could have gotten hurt. I know you saw a lot worse at some other places for the same thing, but Shane and I both got to do a better job in that, and we will.
"I promise you, whenever we win there again, that's not something we're going to do. I'm gonna make sure of that. You win, you got bragging rights. You certainly want to celebrate that, as you should. But it could have really gotten out of hand yesterday, because there's a lot of people down there. I think we can all be better.
"Let's win the game, let's celebrate with our team, shake hands, and let's move on. That's what we need to do. There's a lot everybody across college football can learn from yesterday, because that was a bad look for college football."