Dabo Swinney reassesses ACC title, College Football Playoff hopes following Georgia loss

Dabo Swinney isn’t getting too down on his team’s chances for the rest of the season after losing to Georgia in Week 1. The Clemson coach still believes the ACC Championship and a trip to the College Football Playoff are well within reach.

It wasn’t a particularly close game between the Tigers and Bulldogs on Saturday as Georgia ran away with a 34-3 victory. Clemson was dominated on the line of scrimmage as it was held to just 2.1 yards per carry while giving up 6.3 to the Bulldogs.

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In spite of the blowout nature of the game, Swinney is confident that the Tigers can find a way to turn things around. He told David Hale of ESPN that Clemson can still win the ACC, which would result in an automatic bid to the CFP.

Dabo: "I'll be surprised if there's an undefeated team when it's all said and done this year."

Says Clemson still has a chance to win the ACC and this year "nobody can vote you out."

— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) September 1, 2024

Clemson will begin conference play on Sept. 21 when it hosts NC State. The Tigers just need to finish as one of the top two teams in the ACC to secure a chance to play for the conference championship.

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Clemson owns an 8-1 record in ACC title games under Dabo Swinney and has won seven of the past nine conference crowns. However, they failed to reach the game both last year and in 2021, causing many to believe their run of dominance is coming to an end.

Much of how the Tigers perform this season will come down to the play of quarterback Cade Klubnik. The junior is entering his second year as the starter after throwing for 2,844 yards, 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2023.

He struggled against the talented Georgia defense on Saturday to finish just 18-of-29 passing for 142 yards and an interception. He’ll have to be more efficient going forward, especially once Clemson enters conference play.

As disappointing as the loss was, however, it came against the No. 1 team in the country. Swinney is right in that the Tigers’ season isn’t over yet, but they will need to turn things around quickly if they hope to reach their goals.

That will begin next week with what should be a good bounce back opportunity as Clemson hosts Appalachian State at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.