Swinney recaps loss to South Carolina, looks ahead to ACC Championship

Clemson (10-2, 8-0) is an 8-point favorite over the Tar Heels (9-3, 6-2).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Nov 28 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and his Tigers are back in the ACC Championship Game, but there are plenty of mistakes to clean up if the Tigers want to win.

Clemson (10-2, 8-0) is an 8-point favorite over the Tar Heels (9-3, 6-2). The teams will kick off at 8 p.m. Saturday night in Charlotte.

"We're excited to be back in this game, represent the Atlantic and be in the great city of Charlotte. It's a big goal of ours,” Swinney said Sunday afternoon. “We're excited about the opportunity. We have great respect for Coach (Mack) Brown and the job he has done at North Carolina and the year they have had. They have a lot of dynamic playmakers, none more so than their quarterback (Drake Maye) who has had a Heisman-type year. Should be a great atmosphere."

Swinney gave credit to Brown for making the Heels into a contender.

"He has done an amazing job, building a culture and solidifying their organization. It has impacted their recruiting which ultimately impacts the product on the field,” Swinney said. “They have a lot of great players and an excellent staff. That game was a crazy day. I believe it was an early game. It came down to the last play. Our guys made a great play. Maybe Skalski was in on that play. Isaiah Simmons might have been on it. It was a tough, hard-fought game, as it was the last time we played them in the ACC Championship game because it came down to an onside kick. I have a lot of respect for Coach Brown and their program."

Clemson is coming off a 31-30 loss to South Carolina Saturday in which enough mistakes were made for two games, and Swinney the coaches have an idea of what went wrong after watching the tape.

"Oh yeah, a much clearer idea. It was a combination of a lot of things. One time early we had Briningstool wide open and we get hit. We did not do a great job of protecting on that play. We missed a throw to Antonio who was open,” Swinney said. “We hit a couple more and we dropped them. We had critical drops and missed plays. Those things add up. We had turnovers and empty possessions and you're out of rhythm. It's a recipe for getting beat. Our kids competed. I love how they competed. We just have to congratulate South Carolina.

"We had plenty of opportunities to win it. The turnovers really hurt us and caught up with us. We gave up a lot on defense. D.J. had some plays he'd like to have back, but he's a long way away from being the only reason we lost the game. He doesn't return kicks, play safety and catch the ball. I still love how they competed. We competed all the way to the end. We didn't get a chance there at the end with a fumble on the kickoff return. I just congratulate South Carolina and Shane. They just won it.

“Again, missed plays, turnovers and then some critical big plays on defense where we just didn't do what we needed to do. They made us pay for it. We had a couple of miscues up front as well. Just a combination of all those things. It's a rivalry game so it can come down to a few plays. Missed opportunities, turnovers, drops. Even with all the things we had that went on, we still had a chance there at the end. Special teams, the two returns where we had no returns ... those were empty possessions. Field position was tough. Their punter was tremendous.”

Swinney said the Tigers also did some good things.

"I know we like to focus on the bad when we lose the game, but we did a lot of good things, too. We had plenty of opportunities,” he said. “We have to give their guys credit, too. They were behind the entire game but they kept battling. We weren't able to respond to their field goal there at the end. We had three big drops that I felt like could have made a difference for us. It just wasn't our day."

Swinney was asked how the Tigers would respond.

“We'll move on like we have always done. The last time we lost, we went back to work. This is what you do. This is a championship game, another great venue and a great environment. You keep good perspective,” he said. “You learn and you teach. You make sure your guys understand what is reality and what is not, especially at a place like Clemson when you lose the game. I wish we would have won eight in a row but we didn't. At some point you have to give South Carolina credit. As I said yesterday, there is probably a reason why no one has won eight in a row. We have had a lot of great days. We don't linger around in wins or losses. We just go to work."

On UNC QB Drake Maye

“He's a great one. He can only do his job, right? Teams win, but he has all the attributes. We loved him. We recruited him and offered him out of high school. He's a winner. He's got a great, competitive streak to him. He has a lot of confidence that he can make the play required. He has a high football IQ. He's an excellent leader. He can move around and run with it. He's a complete player at that position."

On hitting the team goals

“We have two goals left. We want to win the ACC and win the closer. We have a chance to hit four out of our five goals. Do that and we will have had a great year. We set goals to allow us to compete at the highest level. We still have an opportunity to hit four of our five preseason goals. It's a huge goal for us to win the league. When we have won the league, it has always led to bigger things. Not winning the state championship a couple of times in the past has kept us out of some bigger opportunities. When we've hit all five, we have won it all a couple of times. That's why they are what they are. We have two goals left - win the ACC and win the closer. Hit those two goals and we will have had a heck of a year at Clemson."

On the concern with turnovers

“It's a huge concern. If we lose the margin this week, we'll lose the game. When we have lost to these guys (South Carolina), that's been the common denominator. We when we lost five in a row to them, we lost 15 turnovers to their three. It's a big concern going into this game and it's frustrating. It's fundamental stuff ... guys getting the ball out and away from their body. It's been an issue. We've also shown that we can do an outstanding job. The first seven games, we had three turnovers. We're very fortunate to be 3-2 in those five games where we have lost the margin. It's amazing that we have been able to overcome that and had an opportunity yesterday but just didn't get it done."

On safety Andrew Mukuba

"He had a rough day. Listen man, I love that kid. He has battled all year. He didn't practice Monday and Tuesday. He has had a little bit of a sore knee. He is an incredible competitor. It's a game he is going to want to forget. Plenty of fundamental things and eye and technique things. He'll have a lot more good days than bad days in the game of football because he is a great player. When you play that position, there is nowhere to hide at times. You don't get those plays back but you can learn from them and that's exactly what he will do. It's a one-person route. It's one of those plays in the game that was a very difficult play. They got us on a double-move later as well. Tough day.

“Jalyn Phillips got banged up and he came out and had to go back in. I will say that about our guys. I saw a bunch of brothers out there competing for each other. They kept believing. That's all you can ask of these guys. No one wants to win more than them. You want to compete for this league title now. That's our focus now."

On December being a busy month

"It's a lot because you have recruiting. They made this a dead week (for recruiting). You've got bowl prep and there is always a lot of travel and plane time. We'll have two weeks to recruit, so we'll be busy with that. A week of that will be all recruiting and then another week will be recruiting and practice. You may practice in the morning and then go recruiting at night. We have signing day on Wednesday, the 21st. Fortunately for us, our class is almost done. We have a lot of guys who have committed and a lot of guys who will be in early in January. We have a clear picture of what our class will look like. Then you have the added piece with the portal which creates a different deal. Now your roster can look very different by the time you reach your bowl game. Everyone has to deal with it. You manage it the best you can."