During his Zoom conference call with the media Sunday evening, Dabo Swinney was asked for his take on the talent gap between Clemson and Georgia, after watching the tape from Saturday’s game.
Despite the lopsided outcome of the 14 th -ranked Tigers’ 34-3 loss to the top-ranked Bulldogs, Swinney believes Clemson “matched up well” with Georgia from a talent standpoint, and that it’s a bright spot from the season-opening defeat in Atlanta.
“The scoreboard doesn’t indicate that,” Clemson’s head coach said. “But we’ve been a part of games where we’ve blown somebody out, too. That doesn’t mean they didn’t have the talent. Sometimes it can get away from you, especially in openers.
“But we matched up well. It’s one of the positives. We were very physical. Again, it was just some details that really cost us. In a game like that, you don’t have a big margin for error. I think that’s one of the things that our guys will come out of this game – it’s good to see that.”
Saturday marked Clemson’s third-largest loss under Swinney, and it’s the first time since 2013 that the Tigers have suffered a 30-point loss.
Swinney appreciates the fact his team had the chance to face off against the nation’s No. 1 team, but he’s disappointed the Tigers didn’t capitalize on the opportunity.
“As I said going into the game, to get a shot at the No. 1 team in the country, you’ve usually got to be in the playoff and you’ve got to be in the national championship to really get that type of exposure and experience. But this one was just on our schedule,” Swinney said. “So, great opportunity for our guys, and that’s what’s most disappointing is we missed a great opportunity, didn’t take advantage of it. But again, there will be more opportunity down the road.”
The Tigers look to bounce back on Saturday when they host their home opener against Appalachian State at Memorial Stadium (8 p.m., ACC Network).
Swinney believes Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs will benefit his team moving forward.
“It’s going to make us better. It’s going to help us develop and grow our team. I’m excited about that,” Swinney said.
“But that’s one of the positive things that I saw – I thought we matched up physically. We’ve just got to do a great job of teaching off this tape and see if we can clean up some of the mistakes and details that can cost you in a game like that.”
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