Dabo Swinney responds to Jordan Travis calling Clemson defense ‘disrespectful’

After Florida State‘s overtime win over Clemson, Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis made it clear that he thought the Tigers were disrespectful for playing man coverage against Florida State’s top wide receivers. However, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney didn’t see it that way.

After the game, Swinney denied that Clemson was being disrespectful in how it covered Florida State’s wide receivers, explaining that he wanted to win the game.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for that kid,” Dabo Swinney said. “He’s a great player, amazing player. We’re trying to win the game. I mean, this kid, he can really, really run, and we felt like it gave us the best chance to create some pressure on him and not let him just sit there and hold the ball and pick us apart with some zone stuff. But no, we’re just trying to win the game.”

In particular, Jordan Travis thought it was disrespectful to play Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson one-on-one. Combined, Coleman and Wilson caught 10 receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Despite that, Dabo Swinney did believe that Clemson was in a position to win.

“Again, I think he’s an amazing player with a ton of heart, and again, we’re trying to win and I thought second half, I thought we’re in position to win the whole game, but again, they made one more play than we did but that didn’t have nothing to do with him. He’s as good as there is in the country.”

Even with Dabo Swinney’s response, it’s hard not to see where Jordan Travis and Florida State’s offense was motivated by Clemson’s defensive scheme. When Travis said Clemson was being disrespectful, he also expressed frustration with himself for not being better in the game and taking advantage of the opportunity.

“I feel like we were disrespected all day,” Travis said. “When you play one-on-one against Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman I feel like you have no respect for either the receivers or the quarterback. I missed a lot of throws early on against one-on-ones, and I wish I could go back and complete them, but man we stepped up when we needed to.”

In overtime, Jordan Travis found Keon Coleman for a touchdown that ultimately became the game-winning score. Coleman was in single coverage on the play.

Paul Finebaum says the best of Clemson, Dabo Swinney is behind us

Still in September, Dabo Swinney and Clemson are 2-2 with two conference losses and analyst Paul Finebaum believes the best of the Swinney era at Clemson is behind us.

“It feels like, you know, I hate to just be too melodramatic after a game that was really fantastic. And it came, I mean, it came down to a kick. So, Dabo Swinney had his team prepared. They really had — I thought it was a really good game. But it just, you can’t ignore it, you know. Two conference losses in September. I mean, I remember three seasons would go by without a conference loss for them. But you also have to remember: the Florida State before us today is not the Florida State that Clemson and the rest of the ACC was facing five or six years ago. They’ve re-elevated,” Finebaum said.

“You know, the one thing they did not need was Florida State getting good, and they are. And it just puts more pressure on them. You know, all the mistakes that Dabo made early on with the portal, he’s paying for it right now. He’s paying, he’s paying big time. And I think the narrative, if we go — you know, obviously, we’re going to go onto another Playoff without Dabo Swinney. You’re going to see a national narrative of… If you take Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence out of Dabo’s repertoire, what does he have? And the answer is: not very much.”