Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers have a second chance. Thanks to Syracuse upsetting Miami last Saturday, Clemson will take on SMU in the 2024 ACC championship game, and the Tigers’ head coach knows it will be yet another tall task for his team against the 11-1 Mustangs. It will mark the first time ever that Clemson and SMU have played one another in football.
“Always great to see ya’ll, but especially on this Tuesday because if I’m seeing ya’ll on this Tuesday that means we’re in the championship game,” started Swinney during his Tuesday media availability.
“Excited to be in the ACC Championship game again, and it’s a great venue” he continued. “I’m excited for our players and I’m proud of our team. We did not accomplish all of our regular season goals, but we did enough to be one of the two teams out of 17 to earn the opportunity to qualify for our championship.”
Dabo Swinney
Clemson is no stranger to championship games nor is Dabo Swinney a stranger to being in the role of underdog. That is exactly what the 9-3 Tigers are heading into Saturday night’s game at Bank of America Stadium. Swinney sees both the Tigers and Mustangs as the top two teams in the ACC with both programs having earned the right to compete for a play-off bid.
“SMU is 8-0 and we’re 7-1 (in ACC play) and so top two teams,” he said. “And I’m also proud of our consistency, uncommon consistency. This is our 10th time in this game in 16 years. I know we’re supposedly a bad program now and we’re doom and gloom. It’s all downhill, everything’s terrible.”
Dabo Swinney
ACC Championship: Clemson Tigers vs. North Carolina Tar Heels | Full Game Highlights
It was palpable sarcasm in Dabo Swinney’s voice. Clemson, in fact, is thrilled with the chance to return to the play-offs and relishes the opportunity to correct what went wrong in the South Carolina game against another electric opponent.
SMU is led by quarterback Kevin Jennings who has passed for 2,746 yards and running back Brashard Smith has 1,157 yards rushing. Roderick Daniels is the Mustangs’ leading receiver with 502 yards and one of five wideouts for SMU with over 350 receiving yards on the season. Dabo Swinney calls SMU “explosive” and the numbers back that up.
“They are explosive, they are fast,” explained Swinney. “They play with a lot of precision. This is an old football team. If you look at their team, they’re all graduates and seniors, a very, very old team that’s played a lot of football outside of the quarterback (Jennings). He’s a young player, but they went to him early in the season and he’s been a game-changer.”
Dabo Swinney
Offensively, Clemson has been able to successfully pass the ball with junior quarterback Cade Klubnik having the best season of his career. The triumvirate of receivers Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco, and T.J. Moore have all been electric, but Dabo Swinney knows the Tigers’ run game must be on point this week and points to SMU’s defensive front as a challenge in that regard.
“Big and hold the point,” he said of the Mustangs’ front line. “They use their hands well; they play a ton of man coverage, and they make you hold the ball a little bit. But the biggest thing is, they play with their hands. They play good technique. They’re big, strong physical dudes that are hard to move. Backers are good players. It’s just well-coordinated, and they fit it up well, and they tackle well. It’s a good tackling group.”
Dabo Swinney
Clemson is seeing the return of several key members of its rotation on both sides of the ball from injury, and Swinney also hopes more reinforcement may be on the way in time for Saturday night. Defensive lineman DeMonte Capehart returned against South Carolina, and there is hope that Shelton Lewis and R.J. Mickens will be ready to go as well.
“Hope so. We’ll see. Hope so,” said Swinney when asked if Mickens would be able to play.
As for Lewis, he was even more optimistic.
“He’s back and so he actually looks healthiest that he’s been since before he got hurt in camp,” stated Swinney. “So, it’s been good to see that because he’s been hurt all year, really. So, I think he’s moving with some confidence that’s been good to see.”
Dabo Swinney
Another thing that’s good to see is the Clemson Tigers back in the ACC Championship game. In their last appearance in 2022, then-freshman Klubnik came off the bench and ignited the Tigers to a runaway victory over North Carolina. Dabo Swinney certainly would love to see that bolt of lightning strike twice.
Kick-off is slated for 8 p.m. on Saturday night in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
Clemson Tigers vs SMU Mustangs
