Dabo Swinney shares what kind of impact Tyler from Spartanburg had on win vs. Notre Dame

Clemson played its most complete game of the season on Saturday to pull off the upset against No. 15 Notre Dame. The performance came after a crazy week for the Tigers, which included Dabo Swinney going off on a fan, who questioned what Swinney had done to earn his $11.5 million salary this season.

The fan — Tyler from Spartanburg — got an earful from the head coach.

“I started as the lowest paid coach in this freakin’ business, and I’m where I am because I’ve worked my ass off – every single day. And I ain’t gonna let some smartass kid get on this phone and create this stuff,” Dabo Swinney told Tyler from Spartanburg.

Clemson players said this week that Swinney’s comments fired them up. However, Dabo Swinney said following the game that the phone call from Tyler wasn’t what led to the win.

“That had nothing to do with it,” Swinney said postgame. “These guys want to win. And I’m sure that guy’s a great guy. … We always do things that sometimes we regret or say things we shouldn’t say in a moment. We all do that. I certainly have as well. But no, I don’t think that had anything to do with that at all.”

Whether it played any role in the win or not, who knows, but Swinney was certainly thankful his team fought back from back-to-back losses to put together its most complete game of the year.

Clemson jumped out to a 24-9 halftime lead and held on for the 31-23 victory.

“I’m just proud of these players. I mean it was an unbelievable fight. You see the character and the toughness of our team,” Swinney said. “It’s been a tough year, and we haven’t had a lot go our way. … But these guys have continued to battle. I just think it says a lot about the coaches, coaching staff, our support staff, but most of all about the heart of our guys.”

Clemson isn’t going to reach the College Football Playoff or even the ACC Championship this season, but Swinney’s club continues to fight.

Phil Mafah and the Clemson defense led the way on Saturday. Now Clemson will look to start a winning streak.

“Just an amazing win. We won the turnover margin, and we were pretty dominant in the first half with no turnovers,” Swinney said. “In the second half, 2023 showed back up, and you battle again.”