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Dabo Swinney takes ownership for ‘absolute crap second half’ against Georgia
By Crissy Froyd
Published:
Saturday’s Week 1 contest between No. 1 Georgia and No. 14-ranked Clemson looked like it was going to be a closely fought, defensive game at the start of it all. It ended in a 34-3 hammering by the Bulldogs.
Georgia lead, 6-0 when both teams walked into the locker room for the second half. But Bulldogs offensive coordinator Mike Bobo made all of the necessary halftime adjustments the team needed to fully unleash in the second half.
The Bulldogs went on an absolute tear, outscoring Clemson 28-3 in the second half as quarterback Carson Beck very much looked the part of the nation’s best quarterback, completing 21 of 30 passes for 227 yards with 1 touchdown by the time the game was over.
Cade Klubnik and the Clemson offense, however, looked as stale as they ever have. It’s something that has been a trend for the Tigers, and a lot of the blame from the fan base since the game seems to be falling on head coach Dabo Swinney’s way of doing things and lack of use of the transfer portal in a new era.
Swinney put the blame on himself for his team’s second-half collapse when he spoke to the media following the game.
“When you get beat like that, that’s on the head coach,” Swinney said. “Complete ownership of an absolutely crap second half. Sometimes, you get your butt kicked, and we did today.”
Clemson’s Dabo Swinney after the 34-3 loss to Georgia: “They kicked our tails.” Says he’s “really disappointed” and a loss like this one is squarely on the head coach. He takes full responsibility for a performance he describes as “crap” pic.twitter.com/SoAo1mCEyc
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) August 31, 2024
Clemson finished out the game with a measly grand total of 188 yards on offense. Only 46 of those came on the ground, where some expected the Tigers would find their greatest groove on that side of the ball. Klubnik had his moments as a pure passer, but then quickly faltered as he was overtaken by a slew of decision-making errors and ill-placed balls.
How Clemson is able to adjust — and if Swinney and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley will actually do what is needed — will be something to keep an eye on as the Tigers face App State up next on the schedule.
Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.
