Swinney confident in ace DJ Uiagalelei as Tigers head to Notre Dame

Swinney says the Tigers are playing a good Notre Dame team.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Nov 01 12:42:34 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – No. 5 Clemson will have its hands full with Notre Dame Saturday in South Bend, but head coach Dabo Swinney is confident the Tigers’ ace will be back to form.

Clemson takes on Notre Dame at 7:30 pm Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium (NBC). The Tigers are coming off an open date, and Notre Dame won at Syracuse last weekend. The Tigers defeated the Orange the week before when starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was benched in favor of Cade Klubnik.

Swinney thinks the Tigers’ ace will be back to form against the Irish.

“He's had some bad moments and snapped out of it. He's a totally different guy. Our expectation is for him to play his best game,” Swinney said of Uiagalelei. “Go back to work. You put your ace on the mound and there is a certain expectation. You have an expectation of what you're going to get from your guy. You won't let him give up four home runs if he's given up three. If you do, you're stupid. You move on and get right back at it. We're people.

“People are not perfect. We have moments from time to time. I'm sure y'all have some days better than others. You learn from it and move on. You have to be made of the right stuff. He's been awesome all year. We're not 8-0 if it's not for DJ. I'm proud of him, how he has handled himself and how he has led. He knows he can't go up there and play like he did against Syracuse."

The Irish are 5-3 with losses to Stanford, Marshall, and Ohio State, and Swinney says Notre Dame is better than its record indicates.

"This is a really good team we're about to play. They had two tough losses. When you're at a place like Notre Dame, it just shows the type of leader that Coach (Marcus) Freeman is to have settled them down and manage that staff and team,” Swinney said. “He's always been a great coach. I'm impressed with him as a great leader. They lost their starting quarterback, a great receiver and have sort of had to redefine themselves in some areas. It's a veteran team. They were right there against Ohio State in the fourth quarter. They've now won five out of six. They have found their identity. They're getting the ball to their playmakers. They have three grown men at running back. They're very physical.

"We can't give these guys short fields. We can't turn the ball over. We had three turnovers in seven games and then had four in one game, which is a recipe for disaster. It would be hard to overcome that at Notre Dame. Defensively, they are well-coached, big, strong, well-positioned. It's a physical mindset that they have. They do a good job schematically on the back end. There are seven starters back.

"This is a complete football team. As things got away from them early, it's good to see them bounce back. I know what it's like to be in that situation early in the season. They have really responded. They're a confident group coming off a ranked win. They have multiple ranked wins.”

Swinney said he is certain that Notre Dame fans wish it would be snowing.

"We're looking forward to it. I am sure they wanted five inches of snow. I think it will be a beautiful night and a great opportunity for both teams,” he said. “As a competitor, I love going on the road. I loved playing at Tuscaloosa, and I loved going on the road to Knoxville, Baton Rouge, Arkansas. To coach at a venue like Clemson, it's special. The crowd at Florida State was tremendous. We know everywhere we go, we'll get everyone's best shot. As a competitor, you love that. Notre Dame is iconic. We've won there once since 1979. It's not like you get to go there every year. The history and the brand of Notre Dame speaks for itself. I know way more about them than I should thanks to Tim Bourret who has told me a lot about them over the last 20 years. We're going to get the best they have at Notre Dame."

On Notre Dame getting the ball to tight end Michael Mayer

"They're moving him around a lot, throwing one-on-one red zone shots to him, double moves, using him like a receiver, they screen it to him, they've handed it to him, but most of it comes from their run action. Where's Waldo? He's all over the place. You have to stop the run or they're going to kill you. Those three backs are sledgehammers. Those offensive linemen create extra gaps formationally. It's a challenge to line up against them from a discipline and leverage standpoint. The quarterback isn't a guy who will be in the shotgun and throw it 50 times. He's going to be on the move all the time, whether it be the power, counter, stretch or swap-boot stuff. They're just creative with where they put him and play action stuff. Everyone knows he's going to get the ball but you still have to respect him as a blocker."

On getting Barrett Carter back

"He's a difference-maker, so it'll make a big difference. He's dynamic, he's great in the run game, he can cover anyone, he has elite speed, he's a little bit of an eraser in that he can fix some mistakes that happen. He's just a great player. He's a big difference."

Injury update on running back Kobe Pace.

"He's much better. He's probably next week. We were hopeful for this week. He's probably not going to make it this week."

On where his team stands

"It's November 1. We got our first win November 1 in 2008 after I became head coach. When you get to November, this is when you have to be at your best. This is when divisions, conferences and state rivalries are settled. It's huge and everything builds. To answer your question, you make adjustments along the way. It never goes exactly as you want it. We didn't necessarily get here the way I envisioned it, but we're 8-0. There are a lot of challenges along the way, so you navigate those and make decisions accordingly.

"There are six undefeated teams in the country and we're one of them. And that's out of 131 teams. It's hard to win, really hard to win. Yeah, we're in a good spot. We have to get back on track taking care of the ball. Four turnovers in one game for us has to be a one-off. It's a miracle that we won that one. We've been really good on third down, one of the better third down teams we've had. We've had good balance, explosive at times, physical, we've run effectively, defensively we have gotten better and settled in.”