Dabo Swinney reveals biggest factor in Clemson’s struggles this season

Among Clemson’s problems at just 4-4 so far in 2023, Dabo Swinney emphasizes that the Tigers’ failures in the red zone and their habit of fumbling the football are what have led to the poor season.

At his press conference this week following the NC State loss and ahead of the Notre Dame game, Swinney was asked what he thinks the biggest problems have been for the team this season. In his eyes, it’s the fumbles above all else, but also the lack of conversions in the red zone.

“Well, let’s just, No. 1, we are last of the nation in fumbles. No. 2, we’re last in the nation in fumbles. And No. 3, we’re last of the nation in fumbles. It’s all about the ball, and yet, we got a double overtime loss, you know. I’ll give you No. 4, because of where we’ve had the missed plays. We’re last or near-last in red zone scoring. So, there you go right there. I mean, you can just leave everything else the way it is.”

Sure, there’s also some other factors, but at the end of the day, Coach Swinney is adamant that his team can solve a lot of its problems by limiting turnovers.

“You got some injuries, you got some guys that maybe not play quite as much as you want, you missed a few plays, kind of normal football stuff. But let’s just start right there: you’re not going to win football games when you turn the ball over at least twice a game. You’re not.”

Despite the turnovers, Dabo Swinney says Clemson is still putting themselves in position to win games, but then they just can’t punch in points in the red zone.

“We’ve been in position to somehow, some way, we’ve still had a chance to win. That’s a credit to the character and the heart and the will to win of our guys. I’m proud of that that. But that’s it. I mean, I think we’re fourth in the country in red zone opportunities, in getting there, and we’re last or near the bottom in actually scoring. So that’s been a problem.”

How do you fix those problems? Well, there’s no easy solution, says the Clemson head coach, but he does know the Tigers can;’t expect to win if they don’t improve with the turnovers and in the red zone.

“You know, everybody wants some big miraculous answer, but you’re not going to win when you turn the ball over the way we have. It’s been freaky, it’s been some crazy stuff that’s happened, but that’s one, two, three and four. So one, two and three is: we lead the nation in fumbles. And if we don’t lead the nation in fumbles, we’re 8-0, that’s just way it is. We’re having a different conversation today on on Halloween, alright, we’re getting treats. And today, we’re getting tricks.”