Dabo Swinney delivers message to frustrated fans: ‘The year’s not over’

Clemson fell back below a .500 record on Saturday with a 35-24 loss to SMU, a rematch of what last year was the ACC Championship. That obviously led to further frustration considering what this season was supposed to be for the Tigers, but Dabo Swinney did his best to put it in his own perspective postgame.

After the 11-point loss to the Mustangs, Swinney was asked for his message to their frustrated fans. He said there wasn’t much for him to tell them beyond that their team isn’t done playing for them, and that he understands what they’re feeling and where it’s coming from.

“Yeah, well, I can’t – there’s not much I can say other than just, let’s go back to work and, you know, this is a tough year to this point,” said Swinney.

“You know, certainly, I don’t blame them. I’m disappointed to,” Swinney added. “We’re all disappointed. We’re incredibly frustrated. But, you know, that’s where we are, and I take full responsibility for that.”

With the latest defeat, Clemson is 3-4 overall, as well as 2-3 in conference play in the ACC. They’d already been eliminated from any notable postseason contention with their start at 1-3, but, with three losses now in league play, there is likely no path to the ACC Championship and or, with that, the College Football Playoff, only adding to the disappointment of this season in Death Valley.

That said, the Tigers still have five games to play to still make something of this fall, even if it’ll be an underachievement in the end. Swinney also didn’t want anyone to forget what has been accomplished in season’s past of his tenure, with this just being one of the bad years amidst a whole lot of good ones at Clemson.

“The year’s not over, you know. So, that’s all I can say is, you know, we hopefully have earned a lot of credibility around here. There’s been a lot of great years, a lot of great years. But, this is a tough one. But, we’re going to try and fight our way and finish this thing the very best that we can, and then we’ll start over just like we do every year,” said Swinney. “You know, that’s what we do every year. We have a great year, we have a tough year – you know, we start over, and then you go back to work. That’s what we’ve always done. But, we’ve had a lot of success, you know, so. But, right now, we’re not. And, I take the good with the bad. I don’t like it, but that’s just my perspective, and I know something good will come from it.”

This season isn’t done, and neither is his tenure at Clemson. That had Swinney promising better days ahead again for their program despite what has become of this campaign.

“I promise you, though. I’ve never worked harder, and I’m going to continue to do everything I can. And, we’ll be back. We’ll win more championships, all right. I promise you that. May not happen this year, but we’re going to win more championships,” said Swinney. “That’s all I can say, and I think we have a track record that demonstrates that.”

“All I can do is keep working and see if we can find a way to win the next game,” Swinney said.