‘It’s really painful’: What Dabo Swinney said after Clemson football loss to NC State
The Clemson football team is 4-4 and 2-4 in the ACC after Saturday’s 24-17 loss to N.C. State at Carter-Finley Stadium. Here are highlights of what coach Dabo Swinney said afterward.
Swinney opening statement
“A tough loss for us, great win for them. Biggest positive: Our guys never quit. They played their hearts out. They showed their character. You saw the character of our team, the heart of our team. ... I’m proud of that.
“We’re a team that’s making too many critical mistakes, and that’s my responsibility — period. It’s tough to watch.
“It’s really painful. I don’t know what to tell you other than it’s a really hurt football team and staff. We pour a lot into trying to be our best, pour a lot into trying to win. It’s just not going our way. A lot of days it has. Right now it’s not. That’s my responsibility.
“It doesn’t get any easier. We’ve got tough games ahead. We’ve got to flush this one. We’ve got to find a way to win a game.”
“The No. 1 way to win a game is to not beat yourself, to do some of the little things better. Right now we’re not doing that. And again, that’s 100% my responsibility. ... Again, proud of the guys for competing, never quit, had a chance all the way down to the last play there. But just not good enough. And that’s my responsibility.”
More from Dabo
On QB Cade Klubnik: “He did a lot of good things. ... He battled his butt off. He made some good decisions.”
On injured RB Will Shipley: Asked how Shipley was doing, Swinney first said. “I’m not sure.” He followed up later and said, “I think they did some X-rays, maybe on his neck,” and said he didn’t know the results.
On all the injuries the team is dealing with: “We’ve still got enough to win. It’s my responsibility to make it happen. We’re just not getting it done right now.”
On what the motivation is for the next four games: “Pride. Win a game. Try to have the best finish. Put your eyes forward. You’ve got to move on. You can quit and lay down, or you can keep moving, keep swinging. The motivation is to try to win a game and have the best possible finish that we can.”
On the team’s streak ending for winning 10 games in a season: “We’ll have to start a new one. ... It’s hard to win. They end somewhere. All streaks come to an end ... What a freakin’ run. Historic. Nobody wants to hear that right now. It’s historic what we’ve been able to do as a program.”
On the team’s final offensive drive: “We were trying to go as fast as we go. We gave ourselves a chance with three timeouts ... The sack, that’s a play we’ve got to get rid of the ball on, because we have a rip protection there and can’t hold it right there.”
On LT Tristan Leigh starting at RG: “We were just trying to five our best five (offensive linemen to start)
On the game plan against NC State WR KC Concepcion: “They had 200 total yards and were 3 of 13 on third down. Would you take that? In any Division I game would you take 3 of 13 on third third down and 200 total yards in today’s offensive football? Would you sign up for that? We had a run bust on a 50-yard run and missed a tackle on a slant that went 72 yards ... I’d say it was a pretty good plan.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2023 at 6:15 PM with the headline "‘It’s really painful’: What Dabo Swinney said after Clemson football loss to NC State."
