Dabo Swinney Breaks Down Clemson’s Win at Boston College, Updates Cade Klubnik’s Status

Editor’s Note: The following is a cleaned and lightly edited transcript of Dabo Swinney’s Sunday teleconference following Clemson’s win at Boston College. Grammar and flow have been adjusted only when necessary to preserve accuracy and readability.

Opening Statement: Good evening, everybody. Hope those of you that went up to Boston got back, or are in the process of getting back. Proud of our team. Back-to-back weeks, we’ve really played well, and it’s fun to see them have some fun — and to see them get the results they’ve worked for.

It’s back-to-back weeks we’ve played complimentary football at a high level. It’s never easy to win on the road. All three phases had a lot of good things — still things we can do better — but the two kicks were huge by Hoosier. Those were big. Good to see him get on track, especially in special teams. Defensively, just an awesome night. We needed to stop the run, we wanted to take the ball away, and we did that. We got some stops on downs. They hadn’t given up any sacks all year, so it was great to see us get five sacks and hold them to 2.7 a carry with a bunch of negative yards. We did a much better job with completion percentage and just overall played a really good game.

I liked how they responded — they had a field goal, a touchdown, another drive, and then Sammy causes that fumble. We come up with the recovery, then we had the punt return situation. They go right out there and get a turnover in the red zone — the interception. I just liked how the defense responded all night. The name of the game is points. Back-to-back ACC road games, we’ve held them to ten points in both. It’s been a long time since that’s happened here.

Proud of the defense and how they competed. On third and fourth down, just two good games in a row — they were 4-of-16. We got our hands on some balls. Loved how the guys competed. A lot of guys played well.

Offensively, six consecutive scoring drives. That’s three pretty good games in a row offensively. I love the balance — a lot of good things in the run and pass game. Four different guys scored rushing touchdowns. We averaged 5.3 a carry. Not a lot of negative plays. No sacks by the O-line — the one sack was on Cade. We got a bad spot there; thought we had the first down. Really shouldn’t have taken that sack on third-and-one. But nine-of-16 on third and fourth down, and four red zone touchdowns — just a lot of guys doing good things.

I thought Antonio was awesome — 117 all-purpose yards. Wesco was over 100. Ten different guys touched it. We missed a couple big play opportunities and had a couple turnovers we need to eliminate, but all in all, a really fun game. Proud of how our guys competed.

Health-wise, the big thing is Cade. As you all know, he sprained his ankle. I think he’ll be okay — probably limited today and tomorrow, ramp up as the week goes. Other than that, we’re in a pretty good spot. Proud of the guys. We had a tough road stretch and got it done. Another big challenge this week, so we just reset and refocus. They’ve been earning the right to win because they’ve been doing what winning requires, and I’m really proud of that. Hopefully we can continue to build on it. Great opportunity this week against a really good team.

Q: Looking back on the film, what did you think of Christopher Vizzina on the drives after he came in for Cade?
Swinney: Yeah, we didn’t ask him to do a whole lot based on where the game was. The pick — we really should’ve called timeout there. We put him in a bad spot and he didn’t fully get around the edge. He might’ve had a chance to get it over that guy if he put it in the bag, but we need to eliminate that play. He did his job though — some good things in the run game. We just didn’t ask him to do much at that point, given the score and situation. Good drive to come away with the touchdown at the end.

Q: On that fourth-and-goal you mentioned, did you think about taking the points or did you want to get Vizzina a competitive throw?
Swinney: No, no — we were going for it no matter what. We did talk about it, but I felt like we were playing really good on defense. Score-wise, we had control of the game. Worst case, I wanted to be aggressive. We were converting at a high level — nine of sixteen on third and fourth down. I had a lot of confidence. Worst case, if we didn’t convert, they’ve got to go 95 yards. I liked the field position. Obviously, I didn’t anticipate throwing the interception and them getting the ball at the 20, but I liked the call. We should’ve called timeout and reset, but I still would’ve gone for it.

Q: How much more appreciation do you have for Brayden Jacobs’ night after watching the film?
Swinney: He played great. It was good to see him because we’ve seen it in practice. He’s a giant of a human being, but he’s still just a kid. These guys have to adjust to the flow and speed of games. He got in a couple early in the season and just had to settle in. But he was ready and did a great job. He’s big, covers people up, moves them. Played with a ton of confidence and got better as the game went. Did a lot of good things on pulls, protections, point of attack. Big game for Braden. Really happy for him. Tristan, outside of one play, did fine while he was in there but just didn’t feel 100%. So it was awesome to see Braden step up. Good for him, and good for Tristan too — took a load off him. Proud of both of them.

Q: These past two weeks you’ve played complimentary football. Have you learned anything new about this year’s team through the adversity of the first four weeks?
Swinney: They’re just a high-character bunch. That’s not new, but you never really know until you face adversity. It’s been great for them to see what it looks like when they play well. We said it last week — we beat Troy but played terrible. These last two games, they’ve played with a lot of confidence, joy, and togetherness. We’ve got a long way to go, but all you can do is play what’s in front of you. They’ve done a good job focusing on what they control. Leadership has been awesome. Fun to come to work with them. They now know what they’re capable of when they play their best. We’ve got momentum — that was a big goal going up there. Confidence comes with momentum. They’re starting to believe in themselves, and that’s a good thing.

Q: It’s not often that Holden Caspersen has a bad snap. What happened on that one before half?
Swinney: Yeah, we were going on the snap. They told us there’d be one second, so we had to snap it on the clock. First time in my career I’ve had that. We practice “game-winner” plays with the center snapping on the whistle, but I think he was a little on edge having to snap it that way. It was high and outside. Clay did a heck of a job getting it down, and Hoosier did a great job staying poised and trusting Clay. He nailed it. Weird situation, but something we’ll learn from.

Q: I’m sure you saw the news that Penn State fired James Franklin. Any reaction?
Swinney: Yeah, it’s sad to see. We all understand that’s part of the business, but it doesn’t make it easy. People say, “Well, he’s getting the buyout,” but Coach Franklin didn’t get into coaching to make money. It’s a calling. It’s never good to see something not work out the way you want, but he’ll bounce back. He did a lot of great things at Penn State. Got a lot of respect for James, his wife Fumi, and their two daughters. They’re people. There’s an expectation in this business, but that doesn’t take away the personal side. Prayers for him and his family as they transition to whatever God has next for them.

Q: What was your assessment of the spatial zone awareness by your second and third levels of defense?
Swinney: Much better. We did a lot of good things. Had a couple MAs — I think Sammy busted on a man-to-man once and turned a guy loose. But overall, much better. The pick was really well executed. We fooled them — looked like man, but really played cover two. Ashton did a great job getting his hands on him. I think the quarterback thought it was a fade one-on-one, but Ricardo was playing over the top. Just a lot cleaner overall. Still room for improvement. There was an over route where Wade needed to process it a bit quicker — got in behind him. So still some little things, but we’re getting better. The last couple games, especially this week, I thought we played much cleaner.

Q: Was Cade’s interception just short-armed?
Swinney: I think the ball just slipped out of his hand. Should’ve been a touchdown. We had a little pressure early — Adam was wide open. It was a well-designed play, easy touchdown if executed. He had to reset off the spot, and I think it slipped out a bit, couldn’t get it over the top. Probably should’ve just eaten it at that point. But like I said, Adam was wide open — quick pressure messed up the timing.