If Clemson dropped a road game to Syracuse after the start of this season, would it be a disaster?
Dabo Swinney stated last Saturday’s game at Syracuse was “a perfect storm for a disaster” during his weekly radio show Monday night. Following their crushing 31-24 overtime loss to Florida State, the Tigers had to travel to an undefeated Syracuse team the next week.
In a crucial game for their season, Swinney and the Tigers avoided disaster. Instead, they dominated the Orange.
“You saw who we are. You saw the heart, the character, the resiliency of Clemson. Our staff and our players, again, kind of everything against you, if you will,” Swinney said. “What I mean in a perfect storm, you are coming off as gut-wrenching a loss as you can have, especially with the way we lost, the implications of the season, all of those things, the negativity. All of those things, you have to pick yourself back up, and then on top of that, oh, by the way, you have to go play a team at their place that is undefeated.”
Syracuse may not have faced top competition through their first four weeks, but the talent on that team is undeniable. Swinney’s team faced that head-on and the results were excellent.
“They have a top 10 defense, a top 10 offense, scoring offense and defense in the country. They have another great quarterback. It is a very tough place to play, and we go in there, and we played a heck of a ballgame. We played physical. We set the tone early. Again, you saw the character, heart, and culture of Clemson football.”
Clemson will look to build off this performance in Week 6 when they face Wake Forest at Death Valley, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. on ACC Network.