Dabo Swinney says Clemson “just a gnat’s hair away” from being undefeated

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney knows what it’s like to be on the highest of highs and he knows what it’s like to be on the lowest of lows.

His current 2021 team is closer to the ‘low’ than it is to the ‘high.’

Dabo Swinney, along with his wife Kathleen, made an appearance on Out of Bounds with Williams Qualkinbush and Kelly Gramlich Wednesday afternoon on The Roar to talk about the work being done in the community as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to answer questions pertaining to football.

Swinney said more than anything he wants Clemson football fans to check their perspective and that the Tigers are “just a gnat’s hair away” from being undefeated.

"“I want everybody to just relax,” said Swinney on The Roar’s Out of Bounds Show Wednesday afternoon via Tigernet. “I want everybody to keep some faith. I want to challenge everyone to really kinda check their perspective. If you don’t believe in this coaching staff and this team and the culture we have at Clemson after what everybody has lived through over the last whatever then you probably didn’t believe in the first place. We have — not a good — but a great group of young men that fight their butt off. We’ve stunk on offense and there’s no question about that and we know — we haven’t forgotten football — we know the issues. And we’re going to get better and we’re getting better.“And as bad as we’ve been, we’re still a gnat’s hair from being undefeated. And that’s the reality. And here’s the other thing, we’ve got a great group of young people that are learning a lot of great lessons. And we’ve got a long way to go this year. And we’re going to fight our butt off as a staff and a team to finish the best possible way we can.”"

In addition to his comments about the current team, Swinney said that if there’s anything he can guarantee, it’s that Clemson’s run at the top of the College Football world isn’t over.

"“But I can guarantee you this — Clemson ain’t going anywhere. What an unbelievable journey it’s been the last 13 years. In ’09, there weren’t three people outside of my mom, my wife and Koolaid Jim (a frequent caller to radio shows) — wherever he is — who thought we could go on a run like we have over the last 13 years. And over these last 13 years, we’ve had some challenging moments.”"

You can’t fault Dabo Swinney for trying to spin an optimistic view, but this team is nowhere close to being undefeated

No one can fault Dabo Swinney for trying to create some positivity out of a disappointing time– and there’s no doubt in our minds that he’ll find a way to turn things around— but let’s be honest in saying that Clemson is nowhere close to being undefeated.

Have things bounced the way that the Tigers would’ve liked? No. But, let’s also not act as if Clemson isn’t just a few plays away from being 1-6 heading into this Saturday against Florida State.

It’s a nice thought to believe that this team– as bad as they’ve been– could still be undefeated had a few things gone their way, but the truth is that’s just not accurate.

Boston College, Georgia Tech and Syracuse all could’ve easily been losses and the truth is that this team is nothing short of abysmal currently.

That doesn’t mean things can’t be turned around and there’s no doubt that if anyone can turn it around, it’s Dabo Swinney.

Hopefully Swinney is right and Clemson isn’t going anywhere, but right now it’s easy to see why many Tiger fans are concerned.