Editor’s note: Rough transcript of Dabo Swinney’s Tiger Hour Radio Show. Light edits for clarity and flow.
1. On rallying from 16–0 down with 27 unanswered points
“You usually lose games like that—so many things that went against us, and a lot of it was self-inflicted…. The first five drives were just painful. You get a drop, then another drop. Then we fumble the fourth down, and it goes 50-something yards the other way. Then we have a penalty, a sack, punt, and then a pick-six. That’s our first five series. You’re down 16–0 and it feels like it’s 35–0.”
“But I thought the staff did a nice job and, boom, five possessions in a row—27 unanswered points. I was really proud of how they responded. It takes a lot of grit and belief and toughness, and they came back and finished well.”
2. On three ways to control the Georgia Tech game
“Minimize their run game. That’s how they’re built. I don’t know that you stop it, but you have to minimize explosives and make them beat you other ways.”
“Turnovers are always key, especially on the road. Offensively, execute with more precision and pick up where we left off. I thought we finished with good confidence and execution—carry that over and do your job.”
“We’ve had too many plays where it’s one guy—nine out of eleven or ten out of eleven doing the right thing—that’s not how you have a good offense. One play kills a drive, kills momentum, hurts field position—it’s a domino effect. Be better at the little things. Continue to play well on special teams—I’ve been pleased to this point. But first and foremost, find a way to get their offense off the field.”
3. On what flipped the momentum
“Everybody doing their job—precision. It’s not complicated; it’s precision in what we’re doing. We had two drops right out of the gate to kill two drives. We ran mesh one time, it’s man coverage, and our receiver stopped running—he’s supposed to stay on the move. It’s probably an 80-yard play.
“We just cleaned up some details. It’s really that simple: doing some of the basic things at a high level. That’s been disappointing, but we will. We’re going to play our best game this week.”
4. On Georgia Tech QB Haynes King
“I think he’s an elite player. He’s as tough a football player as there is in college football. Great leader. He’s unbelievably committed to their scheme, and they use it really well. They put a lot of strain on your defense…. It’s a form of a triple option, and they do it really well. And he’s fast—he can really run. I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
5. On publicly challenging Cade Klubnik
“Just public accountability. There was nothing else I could say. He’s a fourth-year player. I thought he played really poor in the first game—and he did.
“But it was awesome to see him bounce back this past week…. What does this kid do? He goes, whatever it was, 19-for-24, a couple of touchdowns, and had three drops. He responded—that’s what great players do. We don’t win that game without his response.”
6. On Adam Randall’s 112-yard breakout
“He has to play. He only had five touches in the first game, so it’s not like he’s got a lot of running-back tape. This was a huge game for him to play through it a little bit. He will grow so much from that tape. I was really proud of him—ton of heart. Saw his speed, saw his power. A hundred-and-something yards—he was a big-time difference for us in the second half.”
7. On young defensive linemen stepping up
“Stephiylan Green—good player, very steady for us. DeMonte Capehart has been really good—quietly, two games, very productive doing his job. Peter [Woods]’s playing really well. Peter’s been really destructive and taking on a ton of double teams…. Those three have been bright spots for us inside.”
8. On similarities to the 2016 championship team
“I’d say a lot of similarities. We opened up at Auburn and really didn’t play well. I think we dropped three touchdowns in that game. Maybe five drops. Then the Troy game—I think it came down to an onside kick. They just hung in there and kept going. Ironically, our first conference game on the road was in Atlanta that year, too.
“The similarities: we should be playing with more precision than we are these first two games. But they got it going and ended up winning it all—sign me up for that right now.”
9. On offensive line depth and injuries
“We’ve got seven, but we’ve yet to have the seven [together]. Walker was out… then Tristan (Leigh) was out. In two games, we’ve not had our seven that we consider starters. I don’t see us playing a game without those seven—that’s positive. Really excited about Brayden Jacobs and what he brings to the table.”
10. On backup QB Christopher Vizzina’s development
“Way ahead of where he was this time last year…. Between the beginning and end of the fall, into playoff prep, he made a big jump. Toward the latter part of the season, we gave him a lot of two-minute, a lot of live stuff—good-on-good late in the year—and he really improved. He carried that into the spring…. I’m proud of him—he’s really improved. He just needs experience and to play.”
