Clemson enters this weekend’s matchup against 4-0 Syracuse at 2-2 on the season and 0-2 in ACC play for the first time since 2010.
The Tigers had a chance to register a signature win against Florida State last week, but quarterback Cade Klubnik had a costly fumble returned for a touchdown while Clemson was driving for a two-score lead and the Tigers ended up missing a field goal to go up three in the final minutes.
Eventually, the Seminoles left Death Valley with a 31-24 overtime win. Despite the poor start to the year, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney says his team is hungry to right the ship, starting this Saturday.
“They’re a pissed off team, because you only get 12 opportunities to play. You work all year for it and you feel like you’ve missed out on huge opportunities,” Swinney said at his Tuesday press conference. “So you own it, you look at it, but you press on. That’s what football teaches you. What are you gonna do about it? Well, let’s see if we can have a good practice today. Let’s see if we can go win this game and start going from there. That’s what you do.”
In addition to losing at home to Florida State, Clemson started the season with a 28-7 road conference loss to Duke.
When asked why he still believes in this team, Swinney pointed to the stat sheet and said the Tigers have been outgaining and outplaying their opponents, but have consistently committed backbreaking turnovers.
“This is a team that’s close. They’re tough. They’re physical. And you just tell them the truth. … This is a situation where we’ve really played well four games in a row,” Swinney said. “Our record doesn’t show it, but we’ve played well outside of the greatest equalizer in football. And that is the turnovers. We’re fortunate that we’re 2-2 and not 1-3. Because when you play good people – Duke’s a really good team, Florida State’s a really good team – and you statistically dominate the game, you don’t take care of the ball, you get beat. And that’s ultimately been the difference in our season to this point.”
Clemson and Syracuse will meet at noon ET Saturday on ESPN.
[ On3 Sports ]