Swinney on playing games against teams like UGA: 'I like them a lot better when you win'

Opening Comments: "Glad we finally got a tape to review and get the season started here. Obviously, disappointed with the way that one went. That was a heavyweight fight for sure—and it got away from us in the third quarter."

"We played really hard. I thought we matched up well, and our guys were in shape. We were a well-conditioned team. Nobody's hurt. So there were a lot of good things. We had some fundamental stuff that really cost us."

"For us, man, it's just about moving forward and turning everything into lessons for this week to make us better. Making sure we don't let one game beat us twice. We gotta move on—can't let it kill our spirit. That's a great football team and a tough opener."

"I know there's a lot of frustration and disappointment, and nobody has that more than us. But I think we've got a great season ahead and look forward to this week. In the Valley and kicking off a night game here and getting back at it."

Swinney on injuries: "Injury-wise, we came through the game in a good spot. Marcus Tate got banged up, but I think he's gonna be okay. So we'll feel good about that."

On the offensive line: “A good measure for our offensive line to see where we are. We had a few little things here and there. They really—they gave up no sacks. I know there were registered two sacks—but the one sack, that's an unblocked guy that we all had everybody blocked and Cade's just got to throw that ball away right there. Linthicum was very solid, very pleased with Linthicum.”

On if he felt in hindsight, he should have gone for the 4th-and-1 opportunities: “No, the first one was what, 3-0, I think, at the time and you're backed up. You feel good about how your defense is playing. I really thought it was gonna be a close game—and it was until about four plays in the third quarter that kind of blew it open. It changed things. Then the other one, we would have gone for it, but it was almost two yards, so we lost there. So we decided to punt.”

On Phil Mafah: “Initially, we were trying to get out on the edge to set a couple of things up. Then we ended up going at them and started having some success. I think that was the right adjustment that we made there. Again, one of the more encouraging things that will come out of the game. I think we're gonna be a team that's really gonna be able to run the ball well, and I think that will play out. When you play Georgia, they're a great team—and have been for a while—you're gonna get some things exposed. That's why I like games like this. I mean, I like them a lot better when you win, but I like games like this because you can get some good and bad right out of the gate, which can really help you grow.”

On how the defense performed: “We've got the people to be a really good defense. I mean, we created a bunch of third and longs, second and longs. We're gonna be physical. We had a couple of times where we didn't leverage the ball, and we had bad eyes. The wheel route was just bad eyes. I mean, that's an easy play. It wasn't a complicated play. Sometimes, you just get a guy that tries to do too much. That's the first time they've played live, but you'll learn from it. So I was disappointed in that. I thought they did a lot of good things. The biggest disappointment was a couple of those third and longs that we didn't get off the field where he (Carson Beck) was able to make a couple of plays, and then we didn't create any turnovers. So that was a disappointing thing.

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