Dabo Swinney recalls whirlwind of rivalry loss, clinching ACC title game spot

Dabo Swinney and Clemson experienced a range of emotions over the weekend but ultimately came out a big winner even after losing to South Carolina. The Tigers entered the week done with ACC competition, needing a Miami loss to punch their ticket to the conference championship.

So even when they fell 17-14 to the rival Gamecocks, there was still hope.

The odds looked slim early as the Hurricanes jumped out to a 21-0 lead in their game against Syracuse. Swinney put away his phone after seeing that score, figuring his team’s fate had been sealed.

He checked in a little more than an hour later to see that the Orange had come back to take a 35-28 lead after a fumble return for a touchdown. Syracuse would ultimately hang on for the 42-38 victory, and Swinney described the the roller coaster of a day as his team learned it would face SMU for the ACC Championship.

“It was awesome,” he said. “I know people get disappointed when we don’t win a game, but think how these players feel and how these coaches feel. This is our life. So it was down, but all of a sudden phone starts blowing up. It was almost like you could feel the wind at our back with the messages from our players, because that was a hurting locker room. And it should. When you put your heart into something, it’s painful when it doesn’t go your way.

“It was a range of emotions, for sure, but that’s why you play the games and you count them all up at the end of the year. At the end of the day, it’s all about qualifying for the postseason. That’s what college football is now.”

This marks the eighth appearance for Clemson in the ACC title game over the past decade. It won the previous seven times and can punch its ticket to the College Football Playoff with a victory Saturday.

If the Tigers lose, however, they will miss the postseason as they currently are No. 17 in the CFP rankings. That puts a lot of pressure on them, but Dabo Swinney pointed out that they’ve put themselves in a position many other teams aren’t.

“A few years ago, I think the Chiefs made the Wild Card and nobody thought they were any good and they went on and won the Super Bowl,” he said. “When they were holding that Super Bowl trophy up at the end of the year, they didn’t go, ‘Oh, but you lost that game and you lost that game.’ It’s about getting to the postseason. That’s really what it’s about and it’s just gonna get more and more that way, because it’s not gonna stay at 12. There’s going to be a lot of three-loss teams in the playoffs in years to come and there will be a three-loss team win the national championship. That will happen.

“…We played 11 Power 4 conference games and had a lot of good moments. We had a good season. …But it’s college football, man. It’s a very, very level playing field out there on any given day. So again, a range of emotions. But to be in our championship game and what we’ve earned, now you control your destiny. So now let’s spot the ball and let’s go see. Now it doesn’t matter. Everybody’s 0-0. Whether you’re 9-3 or you’re 12-0, you don’t get to have a touchdown on the board when you show up in Charlotte.”

The ACC Championship kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium as Clemson and Dabo Swinney will look to continue to stay alive.