Dabo Swinney shares what win over Syracuse says about Clemson

Following its second loss of the season, an overtime heart-breaker against Florida State, Clemson bounced back nicely to knock off previously unbeaten Syracuse 31-14.

Coach Dabo Swinney came away praising his players for righting the ship.

“We weathered the storm this week. I mean it’s just we’re just trying to win this game, honestly,” Swinney said. “It’s a long season. What I think it says more than anything is when you come off not just losing but how we lost the game, a couple games, and the type of disappointment that comes with that, especially when you’re Clemson, and the amount of criticism and noise that these kids have to deal with, man, I’m just really proud of how they responded.

“I think it shows their heart and just who they, their character, who these guys are that wear these paws and that wear the jersey.”

Clemson entered the season with visions of a return to the College Football Playoff, but after losing two of its first four games, that dream is almost certainly a bust now.

It’s how the Tigers have responded to that that has thrilled Swinney the most.

“Bad things happen and we want everything to go our way all the time, but sometimes in life it doesn’t,” Swinney said. “How you respond to it. I’m really, really proud of this team. I’m proud of the staff. It was a tough week for sure, and then you’ve got to go on the road to a tough place like this and play an undefeated team that you know is going to fight with everything they’ve got. And to see our guys just, you saw the same type of effort that you saw last week in an overtime loss. Really proud of that. I’m proud of these guys.”

The Tigers will have to continue to improve, too, because the schedule won’t do them any favors. Three of the next six games are against ranked opponents, with back-to-back road games to Miami and NC State also looming.

Up first, though, is another opponent that could prove tricky.

“It was awesome this week, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Swinney said. “We’ve got another tough game this week with Wake. I think they’ve had an open date before us, so we’ve just got to find a way to win another game. If we can do that, man, it puts us 4-2 going into the break.”

One thing that would be nice for Clemson if it can get to the bye with a win over Wake Forest?

“Try to get some guys healthy. Four starters out tonight,” Dabo Swinney said after the Syracuse win. “Walker Parks was done for the year. People don’t realize what a loss Cole Turner is. He’s out for the year. That’s a huge loss for us, but we’ve got a little more depth than we’ve had and that’s shown and will bode well for us down the road. Not having Antonio Williams, not having Nate Wiggins, I’m proud of these guys and how they responded. And I know their teammates watching back home are proud of them too.”

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