Dabo think Clemson can turn their season around

Clemson's coach Dabo Swinney recognized the challenges of a 1-3 start to a season that began with championship aspirations but expressed confidence in his team’s ability to finish strong. After a 34-21 home loss to Syracuse, Swinney described Monday’s team meeting as one of the best he has ever attended, emphasizing the importance of perseverance.

“We’re not going to win the national championship this year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t win the season,” Swinney said. “Doesn’t mean we can’t finish well and doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy the journey.”

Clemson, the preseason favorite to win the ACC, has struggled with complementary football, offensive consistency, and team cohesion. Quarterback Cade Klubnik has completed just 60% of his passes, with six touchdowns and four interceptions. Despite these challenges, Swinney reaffirmed Klubnik as the starting quarterback and dismissed the possibility of midseason staff changes.

Swinney took responsibility for the team’s underachievement but expressed optimism about the future. “It’s a frustrating thing because we are a talented football team,” he said. “We have underachieved, and that falls on me. I feel like I let a lot of people down, especially these seniors, but we’ve all got a job, and there’s accountability for all of us.”

With an open date this week before facing North Carolina on Oct. 4, Swinney remains focused on improvement. He does not anticipate players redshirting or entering the transfer portal midseason, and he highlighted the resilience of his team.

“There’s already been a lot of positives that have come from a really crappy situation in a really disappointing time,” Swinney said. “There’s no quit in these guys. There’s no quit in this staff.”

Swinney also leaned on his faith, saying, “I know God never says oops.” He added, “This is a tough time, but a lot of great days are ahead. Tough times make you appreciate the good ones even more. There’ll be a lot of good ones, and I don’t have any doubt this will make us all better.”