Clemson’s passing game has flashed enough to make Dabo Swinney believe the production is in there. The problem, as he sees it, is that the Tigers still aren’t putting it together often enough.
Six games into the season, the air attack has been uneven, and the missed chances against Charleston Southern only put the spotlight back on the same issue: too many plays left on the field. Swinney pointed to a mix of factors rather than a single culprit, while also making clear that the ceiling is real.
“It’s the ball, and it’s a combination of things,” Swinney said. “I mean, obviously, we’re developing our quarterback.
I mean, we threw for 300 yards against a team that might be ranked number one in the country right now. So we know it’s there.
We’ve seen it in bits and pieces, I guess. But not in totality enough for all 11 guys doing what they need to do.
Finishing the plays that are there. So there are lots of ways that we gotta improve.”
The issues aren’t limited to one position group, either. Swinney said the problems out wide and in the timing of the throws have both played a role, with missed chances shared between Tait Reynolds and Clemson’s receivers.
That matters even more now. Entering this week’s game against Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. on ESPN, Clemson sits last in the country in passing touchdowns.
For Swinney, the fix is simple in theory: finish the opportunities that are already there.
“There were several plays that were wide open,” Swinney said. “Again, we had, I’d say we dropped four touchdown opportunities Saturday.
The ball was put right there. You’re gonna have some plays where you’re not just gonna have guys running wide open; you’re gonna have some body-on-body, and we gotta finish some of those.
But then we also had some guys wide open that we did not throw the ball to.”
He also singled out one specific sequence involving Reynolds and T.J. Moore, saying the freshman quarterback needed to stay patient in the pocket and make the throw instead of taking off and scrambling.
“We had one play in particular. I mean, T.J.
Moore ’s wide open for a touchdown, wide open,” Swinney said. “But it’s one of the few negatives for Tait.
He took off and scrambled. And the protection was there, and he just gotta sit in there, step up, go to the post for a touchdown.
It was right down there in the red zone, probably at about a 35-yard touchdown. So no, there’s been several things that are there, but we’re just not executing at a really high level right now.”
That lack of consistency wasn’t costly against Charleston Southern. Swinney said it could be a different story against Virginia Tech and James Franklin.
Still, after Saturday’s win, his message was straight ahead: get back to work and keep sharpening the details.
“But at the end of the day, we achieved the goal Saturday,” Swinney said. “And we’re gonna keep working this week, see if we can keep improving and find a way to win the one in front of us.”
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