Dabo Swinney: Clemson got 'exactly what we deserved' against Miami

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney isn’t making excuses for his team after Saturday night’s collapse against Miami. The Tigers found themselves clinging to a 10-point leading entering the fourth quarter, but allowed the Hurricanes to come back and force overtime to win 28-20.

It was another frustrating loss in what has been a downward decline for Clemson this season, bringing its record to 4-3 (2-3 ACC). Swinney took the podium with a tired look on his face to address what went wrong, saying his team got what it “deserved” given the way it played.

“You got a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and you can’t finish,” he said. “So you just gotta give (Miami) credit. We could not stop the run there in the fourth quarter. They earned it. We got exactly what we deserved.”

Clemson committed three turnovers, including a costly one on the goal line in the first quarter that prevented it from adding a touchdown. All three of the miscues took place in the first half, but the Tigers somehow still found themselves tied at 7 with a chance to win.

They started out the third quarter by scoring a field goal and a touchdown on their first two drives, seemingly putting their struggles aside. However, they hit a wall when the fourth began, as Miami dominated possession of the ball for 13:40 while Clemson had it for only 1:20.

The Hurricanes managed 115 yards of offense while the Tigers only ran six plays the entire fourth quarter. They managed to keep it tied with a field goal in the first overtime, but Miami scored a touchdown in the second after Ajay Allen broke free. Clemson was unable to answer, turning it over on downs on its try.

“We turned the ball over and we did not run the ball well and they did,” Swinney said. “Especially that one play and then all the fourth quarter. We played pretty good for three quarters. So it’s just really disappointing. Then the last play, it’s giving the ball away. It’s disappointing. Just trying to do too much. It’s five inches, maybe. So tough game.

“Again, I’m proud of the guys for competing. They never quit and they battled to overcome a lot of adversity in the first half. Again, most of it self-inflicted. They put themselves in position to win with a 10-point lead and didn’t finish. So you just have to give Miami a ton of credit. Their team deserved to win the game and we did. So congratulations to those guys.”

Clemson has not finished with less than 10 wins under Dabo Swinney since his second season in 2010. However, with the way things are trending now, that looks like a more likely scenario than the Tigers managing to run the table the rest of the way.

Interestingly enough, Swinney brought up 2010 when discussing where the team will go from here. He noted that as bad as it might seem, their losses to Miami and Florida State were at least competitive and went to overtime.

He’s certainly not ready to quit, especially with five games remaining in the year. His track record of two national championships and six College Football Playoff appearances speaks for itself, though Clemson will almost certainly miss the Playoff for the third straight season.

“For us, I mean, hey, we’re 4-3,” he said. “That’s exactly what we deserve. I feel like I’m reliving 2010 all over again. It’s crazy. Two overtime losses. Obviously the game at Duke where we have four trips inside the 10 and we got no points. It’s been really, really frustrating.

“I don’t understand why things happen sometimes, but I do understand you just gotta keep grinding. Keep moving and show up on Monday just like I’ve always done for 15 years. Show up, get back to work and find a way to win a game this week.”

Swinney will look to get Clemson back on track next week when it hits the road to face NC State at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday.