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Dabo Swinney fires back at critics after unranked Clemson football's worst start in a decade
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- Dabo Swinney fires back at critics after unranked Clemson football's worst start in a decade
CLEMSON — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney passionately defended his program and had a message for his critics as the Tigers are off to their worst start since 2014.
Clemson (1-2, 0-1 ACC) is unranked in both polls after losing 24-21 to Georgia Tech in Week 3. The Tigers entered the 2025 season as ACC favorites and a popular pick to win the national championship but have a 3.9% chance to make the College Football Playoff (tied for fifth best in the ACC), according to ESPN's FPI.
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"If Clemson 's tired of winning, they can send me on my way, but I'm gonna go somewhere else and coach," Swinney said Sept. 16. "I ain't going to the beach. I'm 55, I got a long way to go."
The Tigers look to improve their odds when they host Syracuse (2-1) on Sept. 20 (noon ET, ESPN) at Memorial Stadium.
Clemson's shocking start has critics and fans questioning what has happened to Swinney's team after the Tigers returned a wealth of talent and experience on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Cade Klubnik . Still, Swinney is not panicking, agreeing his team must play better but are a few plays away from being undefeated.
"If you don't believe in us because we've lost two games down to the last play, you didn't believe in us anyway," Swinney said.
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The 17th-year Tigers coach has experienced highs and lows and rattled off multiple instances in his tenure where Clemson struggled. Those include starting 2-3 in 2009, 1-2 in 2014 and 4-4 in 2023 and losing five straight games to South Carolina from 2009-13.
These experiences have shaped his coaching outlook, where Clemson has often responded when faced with adversity The Tigers finished 9-5 in 2009, 10-3 in 2014 and 9-4 in 2023. Clemson also won eight of the last 10 matchups against the Gamecocks , including seven straight from 2014-21.
Swinney, the second highest-paid coach in the college football at $11.3 million, also brought up his history of success, including two national championships, seven College Football Playoff appearances and nine ACC titles. Clemson has the second-most CFP appearances and won nine or more games in 14 straight seasons, tied for the third-longest streak in major college football history.
"Why are we held to a different standard from all these other teams out there who ain't never won nothing?" Swinney said.
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Swinney recognizes his team, especially the offense, must perform better. Clemson averages 19.3 points (111th nationally, 15th out of 17 ACC teams) and 319.3 yards (109th nationally, 15th in ACC). Those totals are a steep drop off from last year: 34.7 points and 451.9 yards.
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Still, he is adamant Clemson could be 3-0 if a critical play was made by his offense or defense. Swinney added a team's record early in the season can be deceiving too. He cited how the Tigers scheduled to face No. 4 LSU and Troy, a Sun Belt school, to start the season opposed to what other schools have done, scheduling against "East, West or South University."
Swinney said Clemson could "stink it up" this season and finish 6-6 but believes that won't happen because of the Tigers' history in his tenure. He understands the uphill battle Clemson faces to regain its playoff aspirations and is optimistic Clemson can not only achieve that but win a national championship again.
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"We're building our way back, and it's not easy. It's not perfect," Swinney said. "But, we're going to win it again multiple times. We're going to win it again."
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney fires back at critics
