Editor’s Note:
The following is a cleaned-up transcript of Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney’s Sunday teleconference (October 5, 2025), following the Tigers’ win at North Carolina.
Opening Statement:
It was a good trip up to Chapel Hill yesterday — a fun day, and great to see us play well. We didn’t play perfect, but we played well. And that’s something we really hadn’t done all year, as far as playing complementary football.
We played to a standard. It was good to see our best players play well. Defensively, stopping the run was huge. They were two of twelve on third and fourth down. Field position was a big factor — both sides kind of served it up to each other, which was great to see.
It was a great start coming out of the open date. Now we’ve got to build some momentum and confidence. There’s a lot of good stuff on tape to reinforce, but still plenty to improve upon.
Defensively, 10 points — our first defense didn’t give up a touchdown, which was great to see. Did a good job against the run. Not a lot of big plays. The one long one came when we hit the quarterback — just an unfortunate error.
A bunch of guys got to play, which was great. A lot of guys got defensive snaps and made tackles. I thought the four straight three-and-outs early were huge. The offense fed off that, and our best players played well.
Probably the biggest disappointment was not getting a takeaway. Had a couple of chances — could’ve had a strip sack, just didn’t make the play. Steph got the sack but couldn’t get the ball out.
We didn’t turn it over, though, and our backups gave up the one touchdown in the fourth quarter. Still, it was good to get everyone on tape and get to teach those guys.
Q: Coach, what did you like about Garrett Riley’s play calling and use of trick plays?
Swinney:
It was good. I thought the game was really well called — sequential, we set things up, we manipulated some things we thought we could. Got the ball to playmakers and played with rhythm.
I give Cade Klubnik a lot of credit. The play to T.J. Moore on third and long that set up the fourth-down attempt — that was his fourth read. Came back to the dig route. That’s something he just hadn’t done before. He looked so comfortable.
Q: How did you evaluate Gideon Davidson, with and without the ball?
Swinney:
He did a good job. He’s playing on special teams, too. One of his best plays was on a kick return — just flat-out took a guy out. Big-time knockdown. Those don’t show up on the stat sheet, but he’s getting better. It’s great to get some rotation in there yesterday. I think Gideon is getting better and better each week and made some nice plays.
Q: What have you seen from Christian Bentancur, especially his blocking?
Swinney:
He and Olsen Patt Henry are elite blockers. Not good — elite. If you really know that you are looking at and you watch the tape, they’re physical.
Christian’s a complete player — big, strong, can run, knows what to do, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. Cade found him on the seam route — nice job by Bentancur staying on his feet. Then the screen play down in the red zone.
He loves football. He’s a worker. I came in today around 1:30, and he was out there by himself running 100-yard sprints with walkbacks. That’s just who he is. Bright future, redshirt freshman, glad he’s a Tiger.
Q: Starting with the ball for the first time this year — did that help confidence and energy?
Swinney:
Yeah, they deferred, so we got it first. We felt like we would have a chance on that first play — said, “Why wait?” Corner bit, safety bit, and it was executed perfectly. Antonio’s now four-for-four passing for 143 yards in his career — pretty good efficiency.
It created a ton of energy. The guys were ready to play. We had two good weeks. Like I said after the game, nothing makes you appreciate winning like the pain of losing — especially losing games that come down to the last play. It’s all about what you are made of.
Really proud of our guys. They were committed to go win, and we played our best game.
Q: Any update on whether Tom Allen will stay on the field or go back to the box?
Swinney:
We’ll keep you guessing every week. But yeah, I think he enjoyed being on the field. I’d anticipate him being down there. That was his idea.
In the interview process, I asked him about his preference. After seeing where we were, he felt like he needed to be down there to give us a little spark. I thought it was great.
We played our best game. I’m not saying that’s the sole reason, but it helped. Coaches coach, players play, and our team played really well. When you play like we played on offense, it creates energy. Tom being on the field was not a negative.
Q: Walker Parks didn’t start. What went into the decision to use Harris at right guard?
Swinney:
Walker was ready. He got hurt in the Syracuse game. He was ready to play, but wasn’t fully ready until Wednesday. He was available, but as the game went, we held him.
Q: The pop pass to Ian — what did you see there?
Swinney:
It was well-designed. They were playing really, really soft. We had it well blocked on the perimeter, but we overreached the 9-tech, and he ran underneath. It was there.
Hey, he got a touch in Chapel Hill — good things happen when the Chef touches the ball in Chapel Hill. It was fun. He got to play in the fourth quarter too.
Q: What’s the update on Jay Haynes’ recovery?
Swinney:
He’s still coming. Unless something changes, we’ll probably try to get a medical redshirt. He was training well, then had the quad setback. He’s doing everything he’s supposed to do.
Don’t see us bringing him back for a couple of games. We’ll see how it plays out. Jarvis Green is progressing really well. Maybe he’s a guy we will see down the stretch or postseason.
