Dabo Swinney calls out team at halftime vs. Louisville: 'They're playing tougher than we are'

The Clemson Tigers trailed 17-7 at halftime to the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday night. And as you might imagine, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney was not too pleased with his team. Swinney spoke with Kris Budden of ESPN before trotting into the locker room and touched on the things he felt his team needed to improve.

Dabo Swinney was not pleased at halftime

What more do you need out of your offense in the second half to put more points on the board? “We gotta finish. We’ve gotta [have] some rhythm. First couple of drives, we ended up with a penalty. We missed a block. We got a little bit going,” Swinney explained.

“We gave up a 92-yard scoring drive and then they got a touchdown off the blocked field goal. So, just some missed opportunities. They’re outplaying us right now. They’re playing tougher than we are. We’re not tackling well. We’re not executing. We’ve got a lot we’ve got to do better in the second half,” Swinney finished.

It’s the first time Clemson has trailed at halftime since they faced Georgia in their season opener on August 31st.

Clemson lost to Louisville on Saturday night, 33-21. The Cardinals rolled up 210 yards rushing on the road. Isaac Brown led the way with 151 rushing yards and a touchdown. His 45-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter proved to be the nail in the coffin, sealing the victory for good.

The Tigers outgained Louisville 450 yards to 366 yards, but the stats can be misleading. Clemson trailed 17-7 at halftime and never really seemed to show the proper urgency needed to make a comeback. Their clock management in the fourth quarter was particularly puzzling, drawing plenty of criticism from the broadcast.

Clemson dropped to 5-1 in the ACC Standings for the 2024 season, which puts them in third place behind Miami and SMU. While they currently sit at 6-2 overall, a potential path to the playoff might not be out of the question.

They’d probably need some help, and there’s no room for error on their end. We’ll have to see how far the Tigers fall in the upcoming College Football Playoff Rankings. Their next four games are on the road against Virginia Tech, on the road against Pittsburgh, at home against the Citadel, and at home against South Carolina.

South Carolina whipped Texas A&M on Saturday night and that game figures to be a tough one for Clemson to finish their season with. The Gamecocks feature some of the nation’s most dynamic pass rushers in Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart. And they’ve got an electrifying quarterback under center. South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers erupted for 350 all-purpose yards and three total touchdowns in the win over Texas A&M.