'It Was a Heavyweight Fight,' says Clemson HC Dabo Swinney on Loss to LSU

CLEMSON, S.C.-- After the loss to LSU on Saturday night, Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney praised the fans for a special atmosphere and mentioned that a lot of former players were back to watch the game.

"It was great to see a lot of those guys, and certainly disappointed that we didn't get it done for them," he said

The fourth-ranked Tigers struggled on offense and incurred costly penalties, also failing to capitalize on several missed opportunities. LSU's defensive secondary was thought to be very tough and athletic, but may have exceeded expectations on Saturday, holding Clemson to only 261 yards of total offense.

Clemson also only had 31 yards rushing on 20 carries. LSU utilized the transfer portal heavily on defense and hit the jackpot at several positions, pressuring quarterback Cade Klubnik all night and making him uncomfortable to the point of panicking in the pocket.

Swinney commented on the game's toughness in his postgame press conference.

“It was a heavyweight fight as far as a football game," he said. "It was just a couple plays they made. We had plenty of opportunities to win the game. It was two top 10 teams on the field tonight, battling it out. It was tied in the fourth quarter."

Swinney also discussed Clemson's scheduling of a top 10 opponent as the season opener rather than playing a traditional tune-up game.

"I don’t think the moment was too big. They all sting. I hate to lose, period. I don’t regret playing games like this," he said. "I love playing games like this. I really do.. I think we’ll get better from it. Nothing has changed as far as our opportunity. There’s nothing off the table for this team.”

Clemson's big-time playmaking wide receiver, Antonio Williams, left the game injured in the first half and never returned from what was reportedly a hamstring injury. Safety Khalil Barnes would leave the game as well with an unknown injury, but Swinney did not have an immediate status update for either player.

Despite the loss, Swinney believes Clemson's season is far from over.

“I really believe this is going to be one heck of a football team when it’s all said and done. I really do," he said. "It’s a long season ahead. We’ve got to be resilient and lock in and focus on what we can control.”

Clemson will stay put and take on Troy this coming Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network to try to get in the win column. 

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