After a season he personally described as frustrating, saying, "I have sucked this year", Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was finally able to celebrate.
His Clemson Tigers (4-5) snapped a two-game losing streak and secured their first home win in two months with a dominant 24-10 victory over the visiting Florida State Seminoles (4-5).
"Man, they don't ever… I don't care what the records are, they don't ever get old to beat the 'Noles, and it ain't ever easy to beat the 'Noles," Swinney said in his postgame press conference.
The win was especially emotional for Swinney, who dedicated the victory to his veteran players.
"I want to thank our fans. I thought it was just an amazing environment," Swinney said. "It was a great moment for our team. Some of the swagger from those guys, which was great to see."
"For those seniors... I'm just so thankful that... God had some favor on them tonight to taste a victory in their last-ever night game in the Valley. That was a blessing. It was just awesome," he continued. "I know it hadn't been a... a great season record-wise. [But] I'm just so happy for them."
Swinney called his senior class—including players like Blake Miller, Tyler Venables, Walker Parks, Adam Randall, Antonio Williams, and Cade Klubnik—"Warriors, man."
Defense Dominates
The key to the victory was a defensive performance that silenced one of the nation's most elite units.
"That was a... that was a, uh, that was the number one offense in the country coming in here," Swinney noted.
Florida State entered the contest leading the nation with 510.5 yards per game and ranking seventh in scoring at 40.0 points per game.
"So I'm really proud of our defense," Swinney said. "Season-low 10 points, uh, season low rushing for them, season-low yards."
The Tigers held FSU to a season-low 360 total yards, including just 110 on the ground. The defensive line was relentless, registering 6 sacks and 9 tackles for loss.
The defense made its biggest plays when it mattered most. In the first quarter, after FSU drove into the red zone, quarterback Tommy Castellanos fumbled, and Jeremiah Alexander recovered it at the Clemson 11-yard line to end the threat.
"Jeremiah had a fumble recovery and a sack tonight," Swinney said.
In the fourth quarter, Swinney pointed to another game-changing moment. "One of the best plays of the night," Swinney said, "was Corey Gibson... tracking the ball, finding the ball... PBU and, you know, tipping it up in the air for Ricardo [Jones] to get the interception." That interception by Jones helped seal the victory.
The 'Warrior' Quarterback
Offensively, Swinney heaped praise on quarterback Cade Klubnik, revealing the senior quarterback was playing through yet another injury.
"And then offensively, man, Cade... I mean, he's just a warrior," Swinney said, a term he has used before when Klubnik was battling a sprained ankle. "It's back-to-back weeks, he's barely been able to practice."
"This week, it was a quad," Swinney revealed. "He couldn't hardly walk all the way till Thursday... He's like, 'I'll be ready by Saturday. I'll be ready.' ... He's just unbelievably committed. He's tough as they come."
Klubnik's toughness translated to 221 passing yards and a touchdown on 20-for-27 passing. He started the scoring on Clemson's opening 75-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. That was immediately followed by a 2-point conversion run by holder Clay Swinney, Dabo's son, to put the Tigers up 8-0.
Klubnik's highlight came in the second quarter on a 34-yard flea-flicker touchdown pass to Antonio Williams.
"What a great play by Antonio... On the flea flicker, that was a heck of a finish on the ball," Swinney said.
With the win, Clemson now looks to a short week before heading to Louisville for a Friday night game.
"We can find a way to bottle that up, we could have a great finish," Swinney said. "We'll enjoy it for a few hours here, and then show back up here ready to go tomorrow."