After weeks of frustration, Dabo Swinney finally saw the Clemson team he’s been waiting for.
“We have not played much complementary football this entire year,” Swinney said. “And that’s what you saw — from the opening snap. Four straight three-and-outs for minus five yards, offense scores, punts down inside the 20 — that’s Clemson football.”
He praised the locker room’s response to early-season adversity:
“There’s been a lot of disappointment. For young people to pick themselves up and keep doing the work — it’s inspiring. If you watched us practice this week, you wouldn’t know if we were 1–3 or 4–0.”
“Cade Remembered Who He Is”
Swinney’s biggest grin came when discussing quarterback Cade Klubnik’s electric outing — 22-of-24 passing for 399 yards and four touchdowns.
“Cade woke up today and remembered, ‘Oh, I’m Cade Klubnik,’” Swinney joked. “He was amazing. That’s who he is. I just need him to be Cade.”
He added, “22-for-24 in college football? I don’t care who you’re playing, that’s hard to do. He just seemed at ease, everything was slow for him. He made the right decisions, put the ball in play, and the guys made plays for him.”
A Complete Team Effort
Clemson’s offense rolled for 488 total yards, while the defense held North Carolina to just 53 rushing yards.
“That was a great response by our guys,” Swinney said. “We’ve been leaky against the run, but they played like they’re supposed to play. Two-for-twelve on third and fourth down — that’s big-time football.”
He lauded the team’s depth and enthusiasm: “We played 76 guys. Nothing makes you appreciate winning more than the pain of losing. That locker room was fun — a glimpse of what this team can be.”
Faith, Perspective, and Lessons from Belichick
Swinney marked his 300th game at Clemson with perspective born from his own journey.
“The last time I left here 2–3, I thought I’d be fired,” he said. “Now, I’m happy — happy at 2–3, because I’ve got perspective. God’s good all the time.”
Before the game, he spoke with UNC coach Bill Belichick. “He told me, ‘Coach, you’re five plays away from being undefeated.’ That meant a lot coming from him. He’s watched a lot of tape in his day.”
On Moving Forward
“This is one game,” Swinney said. “But hopefully we can build confidence and momentum. Every week is playoff football for us now. We’re fighting for our lives around here, but if we keep doing the work, we’ll earn the right to win.”