Sports often require a short memory. With the loss last Saturday to #4 ranked Florida State still stinging, Coach Dabo Swinney is doing his best to put the missed opportunities that doomed the Tigers behind him and rally his team together for what will be another tough game this week.
Clemson travels to Syracuse to play an Orange team bent on revenge and one that has not been shy about proclaiming their ability to beat the Tigers in recent years. The fact remains, that Syracuse has been a thorn in Clemson’s side and a team that seemingly always plays the Tigers to the wire. That fact is not lost on Swinney. He only wants his team to focus on the game at hand.
“This team is better than some of my past teams,” proclaimed Swinney. “If we can dream about beating Syracuse, that’s all we need to do.”
Dabo Swinney
The Orange enter the game with a 4-0 record, compared to the Tigers’ 2-2 mark. Swinney points to Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader, a savvy veteran with a penchant for coming through in big games, as a driving force behind their success.
“Shrader is a great quarterback,” Swinney said. “A big quarterback and you have to wrap up and tackle.”
Dabo Swinney
He added, “What does get mentioned about him is, he can throw the ball. You have to have great discipline and stay with your guy until he crosses the line of scrimmage.”
With Clemson banged up at wide receiver, again, the Tigers are going to have some help when the take the field in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. True freshman wide receiver Ronan Hanafin, who was planning to redshirt this season, has had that tag removed. Swinney believes Hanafin can help the offense.
“We have (taken) the redshirt off Ronan Hanafin,” he explained. “He is a great kid. We took off the redshirt because of Cole Turner. He can really help us on special teams and getting better as a receiver.”
Dabo Swinney
The Clemson defense has continued to play well, and has been a constant through the first four tumultuous weeks of the season. That unit kept the Tigers in the game against Duke well into the fourth quarter and held the Seminoles to just 22 yards rushing. Cornerback Nate Wiggins, who was injured defending a pass in the final seconds of regulation, was thankfully not seriously hurt and is day to day. Whether or not the Tigers’ top corner is good to go on Saturday, Swinney is confident in his defense.
“This defense is freaking good,” he stated. “This is a top-10 defense. This defense’s confidence comes in preparation.”
Clemson has certainly not had the season it envisioned to this point, but a win on Saturday in a hostile environment would go a long way toward righting the ship and injecting a much-needed dose of confidence in the Tigers’ arms. Swinney is quick to point out that but for a handful of plays, Clemson could very well be undefeated and ranked in the top 10. The Tigers, he believes, are close to putting it all together and hopes that comes this week.
“This team is getting a lot of results individually and team wise,” said Swinney. “We are three plays away from being a top five team and folks praising us. These guys are doing what it takes to win. We just need to correct a few mistakes.”
