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Duke trolls Clemson with callback to Dabo Swinney complaint

Matt Connollyby: Matt Connolly09/05/23MattConnollyOn3
dabo
Dabo Swinney ( Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports)

The Duke football official Twitter account had some fun at the expense of Dabo Swinney and Clemson on Tuesday — a day after the Blue Devils upset the Tigers.

Swinney spoke on his call-in show last week about the visiting locker room at Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium being so far away and how it leaves little time to do more than walk to it during halftime.

Swinney called walking to the locker room a “journey,” according to Chapel Fowler of The State.

“In college football, you barely have time to use the bathroom (at halftime). … We’ll walk briskly,” Swinney reportedly said.

After Duke shutout Clemson in the second half Monday night — on its way to a 28-7 win– the Duke football Twitter account posted a graphic highlighting its second-half shutout with the caption: “Must’ve been the long walk.”

When you win, you get to troll, and Duke is certainly doing that after one of the biggest victories in program history.

Clemson was inside Duke’s 15 on each of its first three drives of the second half. The Tigers combined for zero points on those drives, thanks to a pair of fumbles and a missed field goal.

“Not the start we wanted. I mean again, we’ve got plenty of yards and stats and all that stuff. But we got our butts beat,” Swinney said. “And the name of the game is finishing when we have opportunities. But we’ll all get back to work and see if we can find a way this week.”

Dabo Swinney evaluates what he saw from Garrett Riley in debut as Clemson OC

The Clemson offense didn’t have the performance it was hoping to or expecting to in Monday night’s 28-7 loss to Duke.

Yes, the Tigers had plenty of chances. But they ultimately scored only one touchdown in Garrett Riley‘s debut as Clemson’s offensive coordinator. Dabo Swinney spoke following Monday night’s game about what he saw from Riley and the offense against the Blue Devils.

“He did a great job. I mean he was frustrated like me. He’d probably tell you the same thing – never been a part of a game like that. It was incredibly frustrating,” Swinney said. “But I liked his poise. He just kept going and he stayed positive and he kept encouraging the guys.”

Clemson outgained Duke 422 to 374 on the night and had 29 first downs, compared to 17 for the Blue Devils. However, none of that mattered.

On its first three drives of the second half, Clemson was inside Duke’s 15. The Tigers combined for zero points on those drives thanks to a pair of fumbles and a missed field goal.

“I mean we’d go right back down the field and we would have a miscue there,” Swinney said. “But again, he gave us an opportunity to win the game. He gave us an opportunity to punch it in multiple times, and we just didn’t get it done.”