Clemson’s Dabo Swinney takes accountability for ‘pitiful’ 1st half vs. Virginia Tech appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Coach Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers, fresh off of a huge recruiting win, welcomed James Franklin’s Virginia Tech Hokies to Clemson, South Carolina for a Week 8 tilt that the Hokies led, 10-3, at halftime. The Tigers have become an afterthought in the ACC title race but got a compliment from Miami coach Mario Cristobal recently as they headed into gridiron battle against the Hokies.
The Tigers’ struggles out of the gates caused Swinney to take accountability.
“It’s all coaching…That’s 100% coaching…Pitiful…That ain’t the players, that’s us,” Swinney said in an emotional halftime interview on ESPN.
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Clemson rallied and took 16-10 lead into the fourth quarter, suggesting that Swinney and his staff may have gotten things right in the film room and in the locker room in support of their team.
The Tigers got 110 yards passing from QB Tait Reynolds as he dueled with Ethan Grunkmeyer of the Hokies, who had 110 yards passing a touchdown for the game as it reached the fourth quarter. The Tigers outgained the Hokies but neither team had a ton of offensive production. Clemson counted 240 total yards as the game headed toward its conclusion with just over 13 minutes to go.
Clemson came into the game 2-1 in the ACC while the Hokies were 2-2 in conference play, both looking up at Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes, who ranked second in the Week 8 College Football Power Rankings behind a surprise No. 1 team. Swinney and the Tigers weren’t ready to give up hope on challenging for an ACC crown just yet.
They didn’t play their best game before or after halftime, but fans knew that a winning effort was a real possibility as the fourth quarter got underway at Clemson Memorial Stadium.
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