Dabo Swinney reveals message he gave Phil Mafah ahead of Notre Dame game

The unranked Clemson Tigers had their backs against the wall and the odds stacked against them coming off of two straight losses as they hosted No. 15 Notre Dame this weekend. But they beat the odds and the Fighting Irish, as their home crowd stormed the field at Memorial Stadium after their 31-23 win on Saturday.

Star running back Will Shipley was out of the lineup on Saturday for the Tigers after entering concussion protocol in last week’s game against NC State, leaving Clemson without one of their most important offensive weapons. But Phil Mafah started in Shipley’s absence and delivered an absolutely monster performance on his behalf, which head coach Dabo Swinney discussed following the game.

“He knew what his role was gonna have to be today,” Swinney said. “I challenged him all week, I said, ‘Hey, I want to be talking about our number seven when this game’s over. It’s gonna be two number sevens, needs to be out number seven and hey, this is your role this week. This is what the team needs. Shipley can’t play, I mean you’re going to have to carry the load.'”

Swinney was referring to Notre Dame running back Audric Estime, who’s rightfully established himself as one of the best running backs in all of college football this season with 1,130 all-purpose yards this season and 13 touchdowns.

Estime ended Saturday with 87 rushing yards and a touchdown versus Clemson, but Mafah stole the show with a workhorse performance, tying a school record with 36 carries and notching a career-high with 186 yards and two touchdowns.

Mafah excelled as Clemson’s starter on Saturday, something that Swinney anticipated following his conversations with the running back from Loganville, Georgia who was primed and poised for the big stage.

“He was ready, he was mentally focused and ready,” Swinney said. “I mean I think it was a school record, maybe 36 carries and we rode him. We probably should have gone to him a couple more times where we got away from him, but he was awesome.”

Mafah’s 625 yards on the season now lead the Tigers as he’s in the midst of his third season with the program, also leading Clemson with 8 rushing touchdowns on the season.

Year after year his workload and production have increased, which all culminated in a special day performance on Saturday that he’ll likely never forget any time soon.