Swinney says transfer portal didn't lose the Duke game for Clemson

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney says that you can't blame the transfer portal for loss to Duke.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Sep 06 20:37:40 GMT-04:00 2023

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said not using the transfer portal had nothing to do with Monday night’s loss to Duke, and he reiterated that if his team puts up the kind of numbers offensively it did against the Blue Devils, the Tigers will run the table.

Swinney spoke with the media following Wednesday’s practice, the only time he will speak with the media ahead of Saturday’s home opener against Charleston Southern.

He was asked about the national narrative that many of Clemson’s problems are because he won’t use the transfer portal – especially at wide receiver – and he answered that the portal had nothing to do with the defeat.

“So that’s why we lost to Duke?...I don’t have any reaction to that,” Swinney said of a question asking to address talk of him needing to use the transfer portal for his roster after Monday's loss. “That didn’t have anything to do with us getting beat by Duke Monday night. What cost us the game the other night was first-and-goal twice and got nothing and inside the five another time and get nothing. Whatever narrative they want to create is fine. We are going to keep on keeping on.”

Swinney said his team has plenty to learn from Monday’s loss.

“As I said the other night, it was a strange game but incredibly encouraged. The things that you need to see to win football games: physicality, toughness, ability to run the ball, throw the ball, play good defense. We did all the things that we need to do,” Swinney said. “From that standpoint, we just didn't... There's no gimme in football. You got to stand up there and knock the six-inch putt in. Just some self-inflicted wounds, just that simple. Those are painful lessons. It's hard to do something for the first time in 127 years (lose with at least 200 rushing and passing yards each). But we did it. But I'm proud of what I saw on tape.

"We've won a lot of games around here where when I watched the tape, I wasn't real happy. But everything that I wanted to see, as far as how we play and what leads to winning, I saw that. The guys were in a position to win."

He then said that he will take those offensive numbers every week and win the rest of the games.

“If we do what we did offensively for the rest of the year, we won't lose another game. It's just that simple,” Swinney said. “I'll sign up for that right now. I was very encouraged by what we saw, and it's unfortunate that it got overshadow because we lost the game. But that's what happens when you don't do some of the routine things. We had a cadence situation. We had ball handling. We put the ball on the ground a couple of times. Three trips inside the five, we get nothing. A couple of low kicks.

“Then defensively, to hold them a good offense, the 13 points deep into the fourth quarter, I'll sign up for that every week too. But we didn't do much offensively to help them. There were a lot of positives. I thought the guys played hard. They competed their tails off. Again, we just didn't do the routine things well. Everything that we didn't do well is very correctable. As I said, we've won games, and I watched the tape, and I wasn't real happy we lost this one, and I'm not happy that we lost. But I am pleased with the ingredients that I saw.”