Dabo Swinney explains what Peter Woods' halftime speech vs. Troy meant to Clemson

It’s been an odd start to the season for No. 12 Clemson, as it opened with a 17-10 home loss to LSU before bouncing back with a 27-16 win over Troy last Saturday. That win over Troy, however, got a bit dicey for the Tigers, as they trailed 16-3 at halftime before rattling off 24 unanswered to finish off the win.

Clemson‘s offense has been extremely disappointing through two games, led by what many thought would be a potential Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Cade Klubnik. The senior signal caller has passed for just 426 yards (213 per game), two touchdowns and two interceptions. Overall, the offense is averaging just 288.5 yards per game (15th in ACC) and 18.5 points per game (14th in ACC).

According to Klubnik and defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart, fellow defensive tackle Peter Woods delivered an intense halftime speech, which led to the comeback victory over Troy. In order to achieve their goals (College Football Playoff berth this season), more of this will be needed from the Clemson roster.

Head coach Dabo Swinney addressed Woods’ halftime speech on Wednesday. He also touched on Clemson‘s early season offensive struggles.

Swinney calls Woods’ speech a ‘positive coming from a funky game’

“I think again that was positive coming from kind of a funky game, if you will,” Swinney said. “Especially offensively, it could create a lot of frustration when two games in a row you don’t play good on O. But definitely when you’ve got points on the board and have only given up one true touchdown. So, (it) can get a little frustrating. I was proud of them and how they hung together.

“They kept encouraging each other and we always say adversity not only builds character but it reveals character. You saw the character of our team with how they fought back and hung in there and found a way to win.”

Although there is an abundance of chatter about how Clemson‘s offense has been disappointing, its defense has not been as good as advertised either. Through two games, the Tigers are allowing 328.5 yards per game (10th in ACC) and 16.5 points per game (8th in ACC). With the Tigers traveling this weekend to face a high-powered offense in Georgia Tech, an upset alert could be on the horizon.

Kick-off between No. 12 Clemson and Georgia Tech on Saturday is scheduled for 12:00 PM on ESPN. The Tigers have won nine consecutive meetings dating back to 2015.