Swinney 'incredibly disappointed' by missed opportunities

Swinney makes a call during the Orange Bowl.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Dec 31 11:12:02 GMT-04:00 2022

MIAMI GARDENS, FL – Missed opportunities. That is how Dabo Swinney remembers the Orange Bowl against Tennessee.

Clemson put up superlative offensive numbers across the board, dominating time of possession and earning 34 first downs, but didn’t get the numbers needed the most – on the scoreboard – in a 31-14 loss to Tennessee Friday night.

Swinney called it incredibly disappointing.

“They did what they needed to do to win the game, earned it. Two teams had really good years, both teams earned their way here tonight, and they earned the win on the field tonight. We did not,” Swinney said. “Incredibly disappointing. Just name of the game; a lot of missed opportunities, simple as that. First half, I think we had six scoring opportunities out of seven drives, and we got one field goal out of it. Against the No. 1 scoring offense in the country that you know at some point is going to hit an explosive or two, you have to capitalize.

“The one thing that we've been probably the most consistent at all year and have probably done the best is red-zone scoring, and we just did not take advantage of plus-territory opportunities. Again, seven drives, we had one punt first half, sky punt, seven opportunities, six scoring opportunities, and we come away with one field goal. Really disappointed with the missed opportunities there. We had 101 plays and 480-something yards, and you don't get any points for yards. That's why on the stats, name of the game is points. Just like I tell the receivers, you don't get any points for getting open. You have to finish and execute. We did not do that.”

Swinney continued with the missed opportunities line of thought.

“I will say this. I thought our guys competed their butts off. I have a great respect for how they competed,” Swinney said. “They never backed down, either side. I thought both teams competed hard. Our guys fought. It was very frustrating with some missed opportunities, but they continued to compete all the way. I thought defensively they gave us a chance really most of the night, and then when we got a one-score game right there in the fourth, they popped a couple runs there, and that was probably the worst defensive possession that we had.

“Good football team, and a lot of missed opportunities. Then obviously missed kicks, too. Took some sacks, made some mistakes. My man Cade (Klubnik) who's not in here yet, you can easily see how talented he is and what a great player he's going to be. He made a lot of great, great plays, but he also had some just mistakes, simple as that. Just took some sacks on some hots, took a sack on a sprint out, obviously the situation right there at the end can't happen.

“These are all things he'll learn from. But what a great opportunity, what a great moment for him to be able to go and play and compete. Again, did a lot of good things. Made some big-time throws.”

Swinney called the ending a sad one.

“Didn't go our way tonight, but definitely -- it's always sad when it comes to an end. It really is. It's always a sad situation because it's kind of the last time you're going to be with a lot of these guys, especially when it doesn't go your way,” Swinney said. “But even when you win it's sad because you've got some relationships that aren't going to be in the room next year.

“But I'm thankful for our seniors. I love those guys. I'm proud of how they competed. I'm better and Clemson is better because of those young men who spent the last four, five and in some cases six years as a part of our program. Very thankful for that. Again, didn't end the way we wanted to tonight, but an excellent year, 11-3 and ACC champs, especially coming off a very challenging year last year and a lot of transition and a lot of change. We're not anywhere near where we need to be or going to be, but we got better. That's something that we can take away from it.”