Swinney says better days are ahead, adversity will make his program stronger |
Injuries, critical penalties, and mistakes at inopportune times have cost Clemson in a big way this season, but head coach
Dabo Swinney is looking ahead to better days and says that winners learn from times of adversity.
Clemson suffered a 27-17 defeat at the hands of Pittsburgh Saturday at Heinz Field, dropping to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the ACC. Questions now surround a program that has had an amazing decade run of success, and Swinney was asked about those questions – and so many things going wrong at once – during his Sunday teleconference with the media. He said he’s never seen a season like 2021, but from his perspective, it’s all good. "Yeah. It's crazy. We get a critical penalty right there before the half and they go on to score. Again, it's all good from my perspective,” Swinney said. “The one thing I can draw on from my life is that any time I have been in the pit of something, God has always been up to something. That's where my faith comes from. God is good all the time. God is good when you are 15-0 and God is good when you are 4-3. We've got to continue to grind. It's easy to be all-in when everything is good and everyone is patting you on the back. This is where you have a chance to grow and set yourself up for the next five, six or seven years. "I don't think people realize how hard it is to win. A season like this will give you more perspective. We have a lot of young talent on this team. “Everyone is learning, everyone is growing and battling. No doubt about it. It will be an opportunity to teach, lessons to grow from. Our kids are competing but we are 4-3 and that's what we have earned. It's my job to get us better. For whatever reason we aren't making the critical plays. It will turn. It has been an amazing 13-year journey for me ... many ups and downs.” Swinney then referenced the 2010 season that saw a 6-7 record. "In 2010 we couldn't make a kick that year. We lost by three here and lost in overtime there (FSU), but we went on a 10-year run after that and there is only one other team better,” Swinney said. “And we beat that team a couple of times. It's all in front of us. My job is to lead, teach and help these guys grow with what we're going through. Man, this staff is working their tails off. We're all disappointed but we have to pick ourselves up and get back at it. That's what winners do." Swinney called the team’s effort at Pitt a disappointment. "Obviously it was a very disappointing night up in Pittsburgh. They had a great game and made the plays that made the difference in the game and we didn't,” he said. “Right now, we're not a team that has a big margin for error. Too many missed opportunities. That's for sure. We didn't make plays that were there and lost the turnover margin. We couldn't win third down offensively or defensively. We have to give Pitt credit. "Tough game for sure. It hurts. You dust yourself off and keep moving forward. We have a lot of ball left. We have to finish strong. That's our focus. We want to win this week. We're disappointed with where we are right now. We've had an amazing journey around here the last 13 years. This is one season in the midst of an incredible journey. We have a lot of great days and great moments ahead. We will definitely grow from this but the focus is on trying to finish strong and the task at hand. We have to grow our patience and continue to focus on the things that we can control - preparation, attitude and how we finish.” Injuries continue to play a part in the record. "Also, I'm disappointed with injuries, obviously. I've never been through a season like this with the type of injuries that we have had. We have a total of 18 scholarship players unavailable,” Swinney said. “We have 14 guys who are done for the year. We hope to get Joe Ngata, Hunter Rayburn and Jake Venables back this week. Matt Bockhorst is done, as I mentioned last night. Your heart breaks for him. He's a two-time grad and working on his Masters now. I just appreciate everything he has done. I love that guy. Again, Braden Galloway is most likely out. Unfortunately, Justin Foster is done for the year, too. He has been battling a lower back issue. It's at a point where he will have to have some surgery. He'll be done. It's a tough situation for us. "You do this long enough and you're going to have some crazy years. This has been a crazy year for us and it'll make us better. We will grow from it. Right now, we are a 4-3 team. We still have a lot in front of us." Can't really call it a "quick" overview, but here is a non-comprehensive look at some the attrition Clemson has faced so far this season. pic.twitter.com/6BY7PvGRUh On the offensive line and special teams "And about the offensive line, I thought they played well yesterday. We ran the ball well and controlled the line of scrimmage. That was a bright spot. Special teams continues to be a bright spot for us. Our backs ... that's a special group of guys. That's two true freshmen and a sophomore. We will miss Bockhorst, though. That's for sure." On offensive sequence with three passes at end of first half “We wished we had run the ball on third down there. Again, in a game like that, it's like every play is life or death or seems. Tony Elliott did a great job. He really did. Guys were in a position to go win. We have to teach them to go win. It came down to missed plays and critical opportunities. We always have a call here or there that you second-guess. They played two-man there and we guessed wrong. It was a bad call versus the coverage that we had." On how DJ Uiagalelei handled his brief benching “I was proud of DJ. He didn't pout one second. He was very engaged, supportive and to me that is great leadership. Listen man, he is growing and developing every single day. All that he is going through, it is going to pay off for him. It'll be a part of his journey and a part of his story, just like the season we're dealing with will be a part of our journey. We will look back and see where we got better from it. D.J. went in, it was a great touchdown drive but unfortunately, we never got the ball back. We'll run someone out there first on Saturday. Everything this week will count."
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