Dabo Swinney didn’t hold back following Clemson’s 17-10 season-opening loss to LSU at Memorial Stadium. “They all sting. I hate to lose, period,” the Tigers’ head coach said. “I don’t regret playing games like this. I love playing games like this. I really do.”
Swinney stressed that the matchup was a battle of equals. “It was a heavyweight fight as far as a football game,” he said. “It was two top 10 teams on the field tonight battling it out. It was tied in the fourth quarter.” But a handful of mistakes cost Clemson late.
“Give credit to LSU,” Swinney added. “They just made a couple more plays, and we made a couple more critical errors. In games like this, that’s what it’s going to come down to.” Despite the disappointment, he said his team will grow from the experience.
Clemson must regroup quickly
Swinney admitted frustrations with Clemson’s offense, particularly the ground game. “We didn’t get the run game going,” he said. The Tigers rushed 20 times for just 31 yards. “Plenty of opportunities, and we missed our opportunities. We didn’t run the ball effectively at all.”
Quarterback Cade Klubnik’s performance also drew Swinney’s attention. “Gotta be better. Just gotta be better,” he said of the junior signal-caller. “He’d be the first one to tell you that.” Still, he praised his players for battling to the end despite offensive struggles.
The coach also pointed to positives on defense, though penalties proved costly. “I really thought we did a lot of great things defensively. Just too many costly penalties. Those are plays that can haunt you.” Clemson now turns the page quickly, with its next game set for September 9 at home against Troy.