Dabo Swinney met with the media during his weekly Tuesday press conference. The Clemson Tigers’ head coach is still disappointed in the outcome of last Saturday’s stunning loss to Louisville, but with another tough game against Virginia Tech looming, knows the Tigers must put the past behind them and focus on the future.
“Well, yea, we didn’t finish (the Louisville game),” lamented Swinney. “We didn’t finish. We had two blocked kicks. We had another scoring drive with the tip, the tip ball opportunity. So, we missed it. If you make those points, they’re different. It’s a different deal. But they kept playing. They (Clemson) competed their butts off, and they finished well. They finished well with a couple of really good scoring drives and just didn’t do enough throughout four quarters.”
Dabo Swinney
With the past behind them, Clemson turns its attention to a very talented Virginia Tech team. The Hokies are a squad that in many ways mirrors Louisville with a deceptive record and several close losses to their name. The Tigers will be running into a rabid environment in Lane Stadium and Dabo Swinney knows another tough task is on the table for the Tigers.
“This is a team (Virginia Tech) that’s four plays from being undefeated,” said Swinney. “I mean, they’re very similar to the group we just played and very similar in style lineup. They are one of the best rushing teams in the country. These guys can run the football. So obviously, with how we played last week, that’s going to be an area we’ve got to have, get back on track and have a great improvement this week to have a chance to win the game.”
Dabo Swinney
But Dabo Swinney is not one to stay down very long. Swinney stated after the game on Saturday, and reiterated the point on Tuesday, that he has faith in his team and believes they are capable of winning every time they step on the field. Nothing about that belief has been shaken going into this Saturday’s contest.
“We love our roster,” he said. “Sometimes you have some injuries and things like that, so, don’t have any regrets on how we put our roster together this past year.”
Dabo Swinney
When the stats are boiled down, the loss to Louisville was truly an enigma in many ways. Clemson ran 101 plays to Louisville’s 59. The Tigers outgained the Cardinals 441 to 366 and led in first downs, 31-19. Simply put, Clemson outright won every statistical category except on the scoreboard and Swinney knows that starts with the defense which was exposed by the Cardinals’ relentless rushing attack.
Against another prolific rushing offense this week, Coach Swinney knows that area of the defense will have to shore up for Clemson to come away with a victory.
“I thought we got our butts kicked,” admitted Swinney. “I didn’t think we were physical enough or played hard enough. Burn the tape. That’s not what we’ve seen. I did not think we played anywhere near the standard. You hate to paint with a broad brush, but it takes 11. That was hard to watch.”
Dabo Swinney
Dabo Swinney is a master of motivation, however. And undoubtedly has lit a fire under his team and coaching staff in the aftermath of Saturday’s defeat. The needed improvements, he said, start with the coaches and filter down to the players they lead.
“Everything that the players need to do better, that’s on us as coaches. That starts with us. We have to do everything better. Teach better, coach better, you name it, across the board. All the things you got to do to stop the run, we’ve got to obviously do a better job this week than we did last week of coaching and teaching those things.”
Dabo Swinney
Clemson vs Virginia Tech College Football Condensed Game 2017
Historically, losses have been a huge motivator for the Clemson Tigers so expect Dabo Swinney and company to come out ready to play on Saturday. The last time Clemson played in Lane Stadium came in 2017 during a primetime top 12 match-up. On that night the #2 ranked Tigers came away with a convincing victory. Kick-off on Saturday in Blacksburg, VA is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
