Swinney Asked about the Chances of Tigers Winning Out This Season

After a disappointing season-opening loss to No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta, Clemson responded with a resounding 66-20 victory over App State at Death Valley on Sept. 7.

So, coming out of an open date this past weekend, can the Tigers ride their momentum from that blowout win and run the table over their remaining games?

During his weekly radio show Monday night, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was asked what the chances are, in his mind, of the Tigers winning out the rest of the way.

There’s prognostications out there that Clemson could do just that and go undefeated moving forward, but Swinney doesn’t care about any outside opinions, predictions or projections.

“Like I say, it ain’t about what they say. It’s about what we do. Always has been, always will be,” Swinney said. “Whether they say you stink and you’re gonna lose them all, or they say you’re great and you’re gonna win them all – none of that matters. It’s all about what you do.”

Swinney added that for the Tigers, “all we need to do is just have a great Tuesday practice” today and “try to get to 1-0 this week” against NC State on Saturday.

“That’s really all we need to worry about,” he said. “I mean, all the rest of that stuff – I mean, there’s never a time that I don’t believe we can win. But it’s about just being in the moment and trying to have great preparation and focus on winning this league.”

Saturday’s contest between No. 21 Clemson (1-1) and NC State (2-1) at Death Valley is set to kick off at noon and will be televised on ABC.

After the matchup with the Wolfpack, the Tigers will host their Sept. 28 Homecoming contest vs. Stanford. Clemson will then travel to play at Florida State on Oct. 5.

Swinney, though, isn’t looking ahead at the upcoming schedule. He’s focused on the here and now, as the Tigers try to march toward the ACC title, one step at a time.

“The way we win this league is one day at a time, one practice at a time, one quarter at a time, one half at a time, one game at a time, and putting everything you got into it,” Swinney said. “Every week is opening day, and that just has to be the mindset, man. And if you get a chance to get another one, then you reload and try to go get that one, and you count them up at the end and see where you are. All that other stuff, it really just doesn’t matter.”