Dabo Swinney doesn’t need a reminder of what happened last September against Syracuse. He remembers the onside kick, the early hole, and the way Clemson got punched in the mouth in a 34-21 loss that sent the Tigers tumbling to 1-3.
On Tuesday morning, Swinney was blunt about his role in that defeat.
“I think I didn’t have them ready, period,” he said. “I mean, sometimes they say, ‘Don’t let a game beat you twice,’ and I just think that game was a gut punch.
I mean, all of a sudden, you’re 1-2 and all the noise and all the stuff that comes with that, and these are kids. We weren’t ready to play.”
Clemson gets another shot at Syracuse this week, and the setting is different this time. The Tigers are headed to the JMA Wireless Dome in upstate New York to face a Syracuse team that has already stacked up two huge wins, knocking off North Carolina and SMU. For Clemson, it’s a chance to keep its slim ACC Championship hopes moving in the right direction.
Swinney said revisiting the film from last year still wasn’t easy.
“It was hard to watch that first half,” Swinney said. “I think we had one possession in the first quarter.
It was 10-0. We didn’t even have a snap on offense.”
What’s changed, at least from Clemson’s side, is the makeup of the team. The Tigers have a totally new offensive line, quarterback, running back and defensive line this season, and they’ve also dipped into the transfer portal as part of another ACC push.
Swinney likes the way this group has handled the week-to-week grind.
“These guys have been awesome. These guys have been, every Monday, locked in, ready to go,” he said.
“Again, we’ve had a couple disappointing Mondays, but they’ve been a fun group to coach. They’ve had great leadership.
They love to play. I mean, let’s spot the ball.”
Syracuse has also earned a reputation as a team that can spring a surprise, especially under Fran Brown. Clemson benefited from that kind of chaos two seasons ago when Syracuse beat Miami and helped the Tigers reach the ACC Championship game.
Swinney still sees the Orange as a physical problem waiting to happen.
“This is one of the more physical teams that we’ll play, and we certainly know that firsthand because they kicked our teeth in last year in the first half,” he said.
Still, he believes Clemson is in a better place mentally than it was a year ago, and the Tigers’ win over Florida State only adds to that feeling.
“We got to put some consistency together and try to have a great November as we head into November football,” Swinney said. “I still think our best football’s in front of us.”
Kickoff is set for noon, with the game on ESPN2.
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