During his Zoom conference call with the media on Sunday night, Dabo Swinney was asked his opinion on the talent difference between Clemson and Georgia after watching tape of Saturday's game.
Despite the one-sided result of the 14ththDespite the -ranked Tigers' 34-3 loss to the -ranked Bulldogs, Swinney believes Clemson “challenged” talent-wise and that this is a bright spot compared to the opening loss in Atlanta.
“The score doesn't show that,” Clemson's head coach said. “But we've been involved in games where we've knocked somebody off the field. That's not to say they weren't talented. Sometimes talent can slip away, especially in the opening games.”
“But we held up well. That's a positive. We were very physical. Again, it was just a few little things that cost us the win. In a game like this, you don't have much room for error. I think that's one of the things our guys will take away from this game – it's nice to see.”
Saturday marked Clemson's third-largest loss under Swinney and the first time the Tigers have suffered a 30-point defeat since 2013.
Swinney appreciates the fact that his team had the chance to compete against the No. 1 team in the country, but is disappointed that the Tigers did not capitalize on the opportunity.
“Like I said before the game, to have a chance at the No. 1 team in the country, you usually have to be in the playoffs and the national championship to really get that kind of exposure and experience. But this game was just on our schedule,” Swinney said. “So a great opportunity for our guys, and that's the most disappointing thing: We missed a great opportunity and didn't capitalize on it. But there will be more opportunities in the future.”
The Tigers will look to bounce back on Saturday when they play their first home game against Appalachian State at Memorial Stadium (8 p.m., ACC Network).
Swinney is confident that Saturday's game against the Bulldogs will benefit his team for the future.
“It will make us better. It will help us develop and grow our team. I'm excited about that,” Swinney said.
“But that's one of the positive things I saw – I thought we were evenly matched physically. We just have to do a great job of teaching from this video and seeing if we can iron out some of the mistakes and details that can cost us dearly in a game like this.”
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