Dabo Swinney has seen just about everything in his 16 seasons at Clemson, but Friday night’s survival at Louisville left even him shaking his head.
“What a game,” Swinney said as he opened his postgame remarks. “That one… that was amazing. I’ve been a part of a bunch of crazy moments. That was one that went our way, and just thankful for the favor that we had tonight.”
“First of all, man, just thankful for the favor good ol’ Luke showed on us tonight,” he added. “That was a game, obviously, that could have gone either way, and both teams battled their tails off. I mean, I think both teams deserve a lot of credit for the competitive spirit and fire. Both teams just fought and battled and… there were times where you’re like, ‘We’re gonna win it,’ and it was like, ‘Oh, this ain’t good. Uh, oh, we’re gonna win it. Oh, this ain’t good.’ It was kind of, you know, back and forth.”
“Obviously, in retrospect, that wasn’t a great plan,” he admitted at one point, reflecting on one of the late-game calls.
“And we made enough mistakes to lose the game,” Swinney said. “And they made, obviously, mistakes, too. But we just made just a couple more critical plays than they did.”
Owning the chaos
Swinney didn’t sugarcoat the miscues that nearly cost Clemson the game — from the goal-line meltdown to the botched snap in the final minutes.
“Obviously, the debacle on the goal line on 4th and 1, and, oh my goodness, on 3rd down and 4th down, the fumble,” he said. “And then we just… was to hand the ball to the back, and we turned around and tried to hand it to Peter, and just… that was just unbelievable.”
“So we had some critical mistakes,” Swinney continued. “But the defense went and got a big stop. That was a huge three-and-out with [them] pinned deep, and then the offense goes right back down and scores. It was just incredible.”
Even late, Clemson couldn’t quite put it away.
“We go out there and, you know, we got a chance to put it away right there, and we didn’t do it,” Swinney said. “And then we get the snap. I mean, it’s just like, you’ve got to be kidding me. My heart was breaking for Flo.”
Defense comes through, one massive sack
Louisville’s offense is known for putting up points under Jeff Brohm, and Swinney made clear how impressed he was with his defense.
“You know, from a defensive standpoint, it’s always about points,” he said. “I don’t know, that’s got to be one of the fewest points that Coach Brohm’s team has had at Louisville. Because he’s one of the best. They do an amazing job with their team, their personnel, their scheme.”
“We only had one sack, but it was big. It was big,” Swinney said. “Sammy Brown… that sack right there was big time, because it obviously pushed them back, and we ended up missing the field goal.”
“It wasn’t a game where they were just gonna drop back and throw the ball a lot and ask them to protect against our front,” he added. “They were just trying to run the ball and control the clock, and, you know, quick game, and getting the ball out.”
“I thought Capehart was awesome down the stretch,” Swinney said. “He was a grown man out there in some critical situations down there.”
“We lost some pressure, they did a nice job on the field goal block, at least, you know, trying to just create some heat, and fortunate that he missed it.”
“Special teams won this game”
Swinney kept coming back to special teams as the deciding edge.
“Obviously, we made the kicks, they missed kicks,” he said. “Extra point was huge, obviously. You never know when those things are gonna kind of come back to get you.”
“To me, special teams won this game,” Swinney said. “A couple more field goals. That’s 10 in a row. That’s 10 in a row for Hoosier. Ten in a row.”
He then launched into a passionate defense of his punter, Jack Smith.
“You know, Jack Smith, as much as, you know, y’all, everybody wanted to just, you know, create all kinds of stories and narratives, and Sweeney’s crazy, and we don’t get a portal punter, and… you know, maybe, just maybe, we might have a little bit of an idea of what we see at practice every day,” Swinney said.
“And maybe that can be a lesson moving forward before we start crucifying people, a kid ain’t even had a chance to play. This kid has been an MVP for us this year. And it’s amazing, because not one nice word was said about Jack Smith in the offseason. Nothing. And he has been amazing. All year. All year.”
“That play he made tonight, listen, that’s a tough situation,” Swinney went on. “But he didn’t make it worse. You know, he just covered the ball and gave us a chance to play defense. And, man, I’m just really proud of him. Four of five inside the 20. We were really concerned about that returner. Zero return yards. Awesome job placing the ball. And just a great job.”
Standing by Florenzo
No moment seemed to hit Swinney harder than what long snapper Florenzo went through.
“Man, my heart just broke for Flo,” Swinney said. “Because… same thing. We don’t have a more Clemson guy than Florenzo. And you know what? Nobody even probably knows who he is, but they knew who he was tonight.”
“And I’m sure there was a lot of hate going on on social media for Renzo,” he added. “Because he made one bad play in five years. In five years.”
“And he didn’t think he was going back,” Swinney said. “And lo and behold, we gotta go back in there, and he didn’t think he was going back in there. I said, ‘Oh no, you’re going back in there. There ain’t nobody I believe in more than Florenzo. I said, you’re going back in there, you’re gonna throw a freaking dart. That’s what you’re gonna do, what you’ve done for five years.’ And boy, he did. What a dart.”
“And so I’m so thankful that the good Lord worked it out for him to go back out there and be able to finish the game,” Swinney said. “Because that guy deserves it. And I just, man… because a tough way to end, you know, if it had not gone our way right there.”
“The tougher this season has gotten, the closer this team has become”
Swinney framed the entire night in the context of a grind-it-out season and a team that refused to splinter.
“I said it to the staff this week,” he said. “Like, the tougher this season has gotten, the closer this team has become, the stronger that they’ve gotten. The more pain and the more disappointment, the more they dug in. And it’s just been amazing to witness it. It just is.”
“You think you know, but you don’t really ever know until you get put in situations and you find out,” he continued. “But this is an amazing group. I mean, they just battle. I mean, Cade battles, he made some mistakes tonight, but he battled.”
He rattled off names of players who embodied that fight.
“Adam Randall, 15 for 105, two touchdowns. Antonio, seven catches,” Swinney said. “I mean, Walker Parks out there just fighting with everything he’s got, a sixth-year guy. Capehart, a sixth-year guy. And just… just awesome.”
“You know, AV, that’s a Clemson record for a DB,” he added. “That’s his seventh forced fumble in his career. So, just an incredible job.”
Winning ugly and still believing
Swinney also zoomed out to talk about the numbers and how they’ve sometimes betrayed Clemson this year.
“You don’t usually win games that you fumble the ball on the goal line, and you have a snap at the end of the game like that on a one-point game,” he said. “But let me tell you something. You usually win games when you have 200-plus, 200-plus. You usually win games when you score 45 points, too. And we’ve lost games this year in both of those situations, so… hey, man. You gotta take the good with the bad.”
“And tonight, you know, it went our way, but the credit belongs to the players,” Swinney said. “Because they just never quit. I mean, they just hung in there and battled. And it’s just special to see. I mean, I can’t even put it into words.”
“This is why you do it,” he added. “It’s special to be a part of a group of people who really love each other, and care about each other. And that locker room was awesome.”
At the same time, he didn’t forget Louisville’s side.
“And again, at the same time, my heart breaks for real,” Swinney said. “Because they easily could have won that game, too. And from their coaches and their staff… because I’ve been on both sides of it, and I’ve just been… hey, tonight, it went our way, and hey, we’re just gonna celebrate it.”
Three straight on the road and a chance to finish strong
The win marks a third straight on the road, something Swinney made sure to spotlight.
“I’m just really proud of them. That’s three in a row on the road this year,” he said. “Three in a row on the road to come up here and beat a ranked football team at their place on Friday night. It was awesome.”
“And if we continue to play like we’re playing, you know, just with the toughness and the grit and the will to win, we can have a great finish,” Swinney continued. “And can’t do anything, can’t go back and get a start, but we can dang sure have the type of finish that we want to have. You know, anybody can have a great start, not everybody can finish them up. But we got a chance to finish well, and I’m really, really proud of that.”
“Hey, next week, we got a chance to be back in the Valley for Senior Day,” he said. “And these guys are special. This is a special group of human beings, a bunch of winners. I mean, Blake Miller, Tristan, Flo, Casperson, Woodaz, Klubnik, Adam, Antonio, I mean, these guys are amazing. They’re amazing. J. Lu. I mean, we just have so many great… so many great seniors. And I’m excited to celebrate them in the Valley.”
“And we got a chance to punch our ticket to the postseason,” Swinney added. “And keep one of the longest streaks in college football history, you know, bowl eligibility, and keep maybe a postseason opportunity to win streak alive, too. So, just thankful for the fight, the grit, the toughness. Special.”
Gratitude and the final stretch
Swinney closed with a look at what’s ahead — and another note of gratitude.
“And hey, we’re just gonna… we’re gonna celebrate it,” he said. “And we’ll get a day tomorrow. I don’t know what time we’ll get home, but we’ll have tomorrow and Sunday to kind of rest and recover, and we basically got 15 days, you know, to the finish line. And we gotta show up Monday, ready to go, and try to have the best possible finish that we can.”
“Again, thankful to the good Lord for allowing me to be a part of it,” Swinney said. “But just thankful for these players and their… just their heart. And I’m thankful for the staff. I mean, everybody’s just… everybody’s battling. Everybody’s battling.”
“So, special night here, up here in Louisville,” he concluded. “And we’re looking forward to a special evening… now, we might get a little bit of night in the Valley next week, since it’s, I think, a 4:30 kickoff. So… injury-wise, I think we came through okay. We’ll have to see where Walker is, and kind of what happened. I don’t really have much detail on that. I know that game meant a lot to him. He’s from up here. And his dad played at Kentucky. So this is… I gave them a game ball at the end, so I’m really happy for Walker Parks.”