After Clemson’s week one 34-3 loss to Georgia, Dabo Swinney hosted his Sunday teleconference call, reflected on the missed opportunity, pinpointing struggles with both offense and defense.
Head coach Swinney also shared his thoughts on the positive outcomes from the game and how the team plans to bounce back as they head into their next matchup against App State on Sept. 7.
He opened the conference by expressing his initial disappointment, saying “Glad we’ve got a tape to review and get the season started. Obviously, disappointed. That was a heavyweight fight and got away from us in the third quarter … We missed a huge opportunity”
Yet, he remained optimistic for a good majority of the press conference, even when explaining complicating or difficult situations that the team went through within the game.
“We matched up well it was one of the positives, we were very physical… To get a shot at the No. 1 team in the country you got to be in the CFP or National Championship… we missed a great opportunity and didn’t take advantage of it.”
Dabo Swinney
“We were a well conditioned team, nobody’s hurt. We had some fundamental stuff that cost us and missed some opportunities… The good was how hard our guys played, how physical our guys played… It’s just about moving forward… Can’t let it kill our spirit.”
Dabo Swinney
He continued into the positives about the improved run game against a tough Georgia front-seven, as well as better productivity out of the offensive line; Mafah had 59 yards on 16 carries and the linemen let up just two sacks.
Although they had two sacks allowed, Swinney didn’t point the finger at them for the outcomes — on one, he thought signal-caller Cade Klubnik should’ve thrown it away.
“Linthicum was very solid, I thought our guys were physical…when we put it all together this [run game] will be a game that’s going to help us grow.”
Dabo Swinney
Speaking of Klubnik, the Clemson head coach was later asked about his season debut, explaining that it was a mixed bag and that the first play of the day was probably the worst play he made throughout the game. He also mentioned that the wideouts have to step up and help out their quarterback as well.
One of the trending topics of the heated matchup was the absence of Clemson’s young playmakers in Bryant Wesco and TJ Moore, who were both top-60 recruits in the Class of 2024. The Clemson receivier room combined for just 114 total yards.
“I think Wesco played 12 or 14 snaps… TJ got in there some as well… We wanted more and we only had 52 plays and it wasn’t a lot of plays in the game. That’s the one thing about playing Georgia… very limited plays.”
Dabo Swinney
He followed up by stating, “Just really a frustrating [thing]… we got to make sure our playmakers are touching the ball… we definitely didn’t do a good job of that yesterday.”
Swinney ended the presser by talking about the controversial play-calling and their preparedness heading into next week.
“I really liked the plan but it didn’t work out how the way we wanted… [On 52 plays] You’re not having a lot of sustained drives and rhythm.. there’s plays he’d [Garrett Riley] like back but the penalties were critical and a couple missed plays we should’ve made.”
Dabo Swinney
Although Clemson opens next week as 16.5 point favorites, Swinney still made sure to give credit where credit is due about the program.
App State’s not gonna sneak up on anybody. If App State’s been sneaking up on you, you’ve been in a cave… Our goal this week is to find a way to get better as a team… and show improvement and find a way to beat App State.
Dabo Swinney
