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Dabo Swinney using Citadel’s success against Alabama, South Carolina as motivation for his team
By Brian Stultz
Published:
Coach speak is at its best when a really good team such as Clemson has an overmatched opponent — this time Citadel — coming into its stadium to most likely get its butt kicked and receive a paycheck for its efforts.
We are completely focused on them. We can’t overlook them. They have talented players that could do some damage.
This is all part of a coach trying to both play up their opponent and keep their players from taking that opponent too lightly. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, however, amped up his preparation on Tuesday when talking about the Bulldogs.
“That’s college football. The Citadel was probably Alabama’s toughest game last year until Georgia. I’m just telling you the truth. The Citadel beat South Carolina,” Swinney said.
While some people might think of this as a jab by the Tigers’ coach, it is likely just a way to keep Clemson players from getting caught up in being both ranked No. 1 and having quite a reasonable schedule the rest of the way in an attempt to reach the College Football Playoff.
The Bulldogs went into Bryant-Denny Stadium and was tied 10-10 with the mighty Crimson Tide at halftime before Alabama pulled away. This was following back-to-back weeks in which Nick Saban’s squad shut out LSU and Mississippi State, who were both ranked at the time.
In 2015, Citadel took down the Gamecocks 23-22 in Columbia.
Brian Stultz covers SEC football for SaturdayDownSouth.com. A graduate of Auburn University, he is a member of the Football Writers Association of America. You can follow him on Twitter @brianjstultz.
