As Clemson turns its full attention to Penn State ahead of their bowl showdown in New York, Dabo Swinney made it clear: he has a deep appreciation for what Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith has pulled off.
Asked for his impressions after a few days of film study, Swinney immediately went to the difficulty of the role itself.
“Well, first of all, I've got great respect for anybody who gets put in an interim situation. I've been there, done that,” Swinney said.
“That is an incredibly difficult task to all of a sudden you're thrust into a completely different role and to have to kind of redefine roles and responsibilities. You wear a lot of different hats. That is not easy. Especially at a place like Penn State where there's a lot of people who care and are paying attention to everything that you do.”
Swinney, who famously took over Clemson as an interim and turned it into a national power, clearly sees a familiar grind in what Smith has navigated.
“They’ve Continued to Battle”: Swinney on Penn State’s Finish
Clemson and Penn State share a similar storyline this season: high expectations, early disappointment, and a late push to salvage something meaningful.
“I just think he's done an amazing job,” Swinney said of Smith.
“And then they've had injuries, but settling them down and finding a way to finish the season just like we have: disappointing start; both had high expectations.”
For Swinney, the way Penn State has closed the year says more about who they are than how they started.
“But football is football. Football is hard and it doesn't always go your way, but most of the time it gets worse when things go bad,” he said.
“What you've seen at Penn State is you've seen the character of their program, the character of their players, because they've continued to battle.”
He even suggested their record could look better with just a couple of different bounces.
“Honestly, there's a couple of other games they could have won. They've competed, and they battled. I think that's a great reflection of who Coach Smith is and the job that he's done.”
Clemson Expects a Tough, High-Character Bowl Fight
For Swinney, this bowl game is about more than a trip to New York and a final score — it’s about two teams that refused to fold.
“I think that it's just, again, a great opportunity for both teams to go compete to try to finish your season with a win,” he said.
“Excited about it.”
From his vantage point, Penn State’s resilience, Smith’s steady leadership, and the way they’ve handled adversity make this matchup anything but a typical postseason exhibition. It’s two programs that took punches, adjusted, and kept swinging — exactly the kind of test Swinney says Clemson is eager to embrace.