Dabo Swinney came out of Clemson’s win with a message that was equal parts satisfied and unfinished. The Tigers handled their business on the road, stayed unbeaten in league play and leaned on the kind of complementary football Swinney wants to see more often. But the Clemson coach didn’t try to dress it up as anything more than a step.
“We’re still a work in progress”
That was the tone from the start after Clemson got back from the long trip. Swinney said the Tigers “found a way to go get it done,” and he pointed to special teams, defense and the run game as the pieces that separated Clemson from its opponent.
The defense drew the strongest praise. Swinney said it was “probably our best game,” adding that the group “really flew around, played tough, played physical.”
Clemson held the other team without an offensive touchdown, and Swinney noted how difficult that is “in today’s football.” He also highlighted the second-half numbers, saying the Tigers have allowed only six points total over the last three games after halftime.
The quarterback play, though, was a different story. Swinney called it a concern and said it was a career low for Tait.
Later, when asked about two low throws to Christian on screens and slants, he said Tait is usually “very accurate” in practice and has “been very accurate,” but simply “wasn’t the other night.” One of those passes should have been caught, Swinney said, and could have put the game away.
He added that throwing on the move is one of Tait’s strengths, but “did not have a great night with that the other night.”
Still, Swinney said Tait did settle in after a rough start. He also stressed that Clemson didn’t have many chances in the second half, especially after the late kneel-down sequence.
The Tigers had only three drives, with two starting at the one and the two. The big play was the 98-yard drive, which Swinney called huge and said was only the seventh such drive in Clemson history.
He also praised the offensive line, saying some of those players up front had their best game.
One of the clearest individual bright spots came from London Merritt. Swinney said Merritt “by far played his best game” and called it a heck of a performance.
He praised Merritt’s relentless effort and disruption, saying Clemson affected the quarterback as well as it has all season from a rush standpoint. Merritt also made a key extra-effort play when Clemson missed a couple of tackles, and Swinney said he is “just getting better and better.”
Gavin Blanchard also earned a mixed but mostly positive review. Swinney said Blanchard had one bad play on a sack, when the protection should have been picked up on a three-man bump.
But beyond that, he said Blanchard played tough, played physical and got after people. Swinney called him a smart kid who loves to play, and said Clemson is slowly building depth there.
On the travel side, Swinney said the timing of the trip made a difference. He said it would have been different if Clemson had played on Saturday, but the Friday game gave the team a chance to reset.
The Tigers got home around 11 a.m. yesterday, and Swinney said that day was mostly a blur. Players were off again today for treatment, nutrition and stretching, with practice not coming until tomorrow night.
That schedule, he said, should leave Clemson in a good spot. But the coach also made clear what’s next: “by far the best opponent that we've had here at home coming in here to the Valley,” he said, calling it a big challenge.
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