Dabo Swinney: Clemson self-imploded in some key situations vs. Duke

A befuddled Dabo Swinney could hardly come up with answers or explain just how his team lost to Duke by three touchdowns in the season-opener.

The Clemson head coach called the contest vs. the Blue Devils one of the “weirdest” games he’ ever been apart of. That’s likely because the Tigers haven’t lost an ACC game by 21 points or more since 2014, when Georgia Tech beat them 28-6 in the inaugural year of the College Football Playoff.

So, after the game, a dumbfounded Swinney grasped for answers but could hardly figure out how and why his team committed so many errors. He was asked if the team was surprised by Duke, but said they were’t, noting that they simply missed on a few plays.

“No, I mean, I didn’t. You know, I was disappointed that we busted on the wheel route twice. You know, that was not anything we had in practice,” said Swinney, also mentioning missed tackles as an issue.

“And I was disappointed we missed a couple, I thought, easy tackles early, but nothing that we weren’t prepared for.”

According to Swinney, his team just came apart in moments where they could not afford to do so.

“So again, it’s not like this is — if you really watch the game, you know what happened in the game, and we self-imploded in some critical situations,” he continued.

What really frustrates Dabo Swinney is how simple some of the team’s errors were. For a program prided on doing the little things right, the Tigers certainly came up short in that department on Labor Day.

“And again, you got to finish,” Swinney said. “And it was routine stuff. I mean, the basics, the fundamentals, you know, ball-handling, just some basic basic stuff. Not jumping off side on first and going from the one. You know, basic stuff.”

With so many self-inflicted wounds — which aren’t typical for Clemson under Swinney — the head coach considers the loss a bizarre game for his team.

“And you know, that’s just — again, it’s the weirdest game I’ve ever been a part of,” Swinney said. “I mean, I’ve been beat, I’ve had my butt kicked many times in my career, but I can honestly say that’s one of the strangest games I’ve ever been a part of.”

According to Swinney, the Tigers have to take care of the basics — tackling, avoiding penalties, smart decision-making, etc. — in order to avoid another loss like the Duke one.