Swinney told O-line during timeout they were going to run it to win it

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney trusted his O-line to get the job done late in Jacksonville.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Dec 30 12:13:03 GMT-04:00 2023

JACKSONVILLE, FL – Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney called a timeout with 21 seconds left on the clock and his team facing a 1st-and-goal at the Kentucky three-yard line with the Tigers needing a touchdown to win the game. He told his players on the sideline they were going to run the ball, and run it they did.

Clemson overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half and scored with just 17 seconds left on the clock to defeat Kentucky 38-35 in the Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium. After Kentucky scored to take a 35-30 lead with just over two minutes remaining, quarterback Cade Klubnik led the Tigers down the field for the game-winner, going 8-for-8 for 71 yards on the drive. Running back Phil Mafah scored his fourth touchdown of the game with 17 seconds remaining to give Clemson the win.

During the timeout, Swinney told his team what they would do.

“When we got down there and it was 1st-and-3 and the clock's against us, Coach was like, 'Hey, no timeouts. No timeouts. It's like, hey, we're going to run this ball, and we're going to go score,'” center Will Putnam said. “And you saw Phil and other guys piling in, giving the last effort just to throw him over the goal line and we got it done. And man, it's just a great feeling.

“He told us during the timeout, ‘We're going to hand the ball off and we're going to run it and we're going to get it in the end zone. This is what we're going to do. I'm like, Hell yeah, man. We're about to do this. We're about to get this done. I knew we could. You could tell they were getting a little bit tired, especially once you cross the 50-yard line, those couple of plays, you could see they're slow getting to the ball. I think it was starting to wear on them.

"I think it's a good test for our coach backs and our strength, condition, and stuff as well. Then, yeah, we were able to finish the game. You got Phil Mafah you got those guys back there, Keith Adams, all those guys. We're going to get it in. And he did.”

Putnam said he liked the fact that Swinney had confidence in the offensive line.

“Yeah, it makes you feel good, but it's a lot of responsibility as well. The coaches are trusting us to get it done, to get two yards and to go forward,” Putnam said. “I'm sure Kentucky is thinking like, alright, they're probably going to run the ball, too. But if you have Phil Mafah back there and you have Will Shipley back there, whoever holds the ball, you feel really confident. You feel really confident in that. I'm glad we did it, worked out.”