By early October, all of Clemson’s playoff hopes were gone. Then the ACC Title game chances evaporated. They fell to 3-5 at one point, and it appeared Clemson would have massive difficulty just reaching a bowl game.
Dabo Swinney needs to change his coaching philosophy on the portal for Clemson to get back to national relevance, but there’s one thing I think Swinney is 2nd to none at. That’s being a motivator.
Clemson’s season was dead. How do you motivate a team to finish well when all its goals are gone, especially after a last-second loss, where Duke sent Clemson to loss number 5?
FSU was in the same lost season boat. Louisville was playing for a spot in the ACC Title game. Furman you would beat, but South Carolina, despite their record, was at home, beat you last year, and had shown the ability to compete with top-ranked teams.
Converted WR Adam Randall ran for 100 yards. QB Cade Klubnik threw for over 250, and the defense held South Carolina to 41 yards rushing. The maligned secondary had 2 interceptions.
It was not the season Clemson wanted, but Dabo Swinney and his players kept it from collapsing. That means something.
Now it’s on to an unknown bowl destination.
Those games are meaningless to some schools, some players, and even a lot of fans. You can’t really blame them either, but I have a feeling Dabo Swinney will have his team motivated to play.
That’s where he is at his best.
