Dabo Swinney opens up on craziness of fourth quarter in bowl game

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has certainly experienced some wild finishes in his time, but the Tigers’ Gator Bowl victory vs. Kentucky might rank at the very top.

The Wildcats actually reached the end of the third quarter with a 21-10 lead, but little did they know what madness would ensue. Clemson would force a punt and score a TD to make it 21-16, and Kentucky would then commit three straight turnovers: two fumbles sandwiched in between an interception. However, Clemson also turned one of those possessions right back over to Kentucky.

When the dust settled after the turnovers, Clemson held a 27-21 advantage, but it was Kentucky who struck next on a Barion Brown 60-yard touchdown catch. Clemson came back with a field goal, Kentucky added another TD thanks to Jordan Dingle’s 72-yard catch, and then Clemson slowly drove down the field and converted a 3rd and 18 en route to punch in the game-winner after one heck of a final 15-minute period.

“I’ve been a part of some crazy ones. I’ve been a part of some crazy ones for sure,” said Dabo Swinney after the game when asked about the craziest game he’s been apart of and if this bowl game qualified. “Third and 18 down there at the stretch, and somehow we found a way to get it done. Was it five lead changes? I mean, it was just back and forth.”

Ever the perfectionist head coach, Swinney still wasn’t thrilled with a number of errors made by his team, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

“We did some dumb stuff, now,” Swinney continued. “I mean, we had four guys out. Obviously we had four starters out on defense. But guys, I mean, we had cover two, and we let a guy run right by us, one of our best players. We did some dumb stuff that we’ll grow from and learn from.”

After the defense led Clemson to many of its wins this year, Swinney was happy to see the offense go out and make the plays they needed to in order to pull off the comeback win.

“Again, you hate to go through it, but the flip side of it to see your offense have to go win the game. The defense has been there all year,” Swinney added. “And we wouldn’t even have had a chance today, even though they gave up those big plays, if we hadn’t got the takeaways. We would have had no shot.

“To see the offense go win it that way, that right there will be huge for the development of our guys — our quarterback, our linemen, our skill, everybody.”

This is the type of exciting game and positive result that can really be a springboard for next season’s team, per Dabo Swinney.

“The belief, the confidence, the grit, the heart,” Swinney said. “Those things, man, great stuff happens when you have all that stuff in place. A game like that, a win like that, a drive like that will put a lot of wind in your sails.”