Swinney not concerned with lack of style in Clemson’s opener
Clemson’s 19-13 win over Auburn Saturday night wasn’t pretty. That’s fine with Tigers coach Dabo Swinney. He wasn’t trying to win a beauty contest.
Clemson dropped passes, turned the ball over twice and only scored touchdowns on two of its four red-zone trips. In spite of those issues, the Tigers got the win in a hostile environment.
Swinney said he isn’t concerned with opinions that just winning isn’t good enough anymore, you have to win in a certain style and by a certain amount of points.
“I’m sorry we disappointed them. That’s all I can tell them,” Swinney said sarcastically. “We went to win the game and that’s what we did.”
The win was Clemson’s first at Auburn since 1950 and its first road win over a team currently in the SEC to open a season since 1903.
“I can remember a time, not very long ago, nobody would’ve expected us to go to Auburn at 8 o’clock on national TV in prime time and win. Now we’re expected to win, which is awesome. But we’re supposed to win by a certain amount and all of that,” Swinney said. “That’s not my objective. My job is to win football games not make other people happy by how we win.”
Swinney acknowledged there’s plenty of room for improvement.
Star receiver Mike Williams had nine receptions for a career-high 174 yards, but also dropped two passes and fumbled. Heisman Trophy candidate Deshaun Watson threw an interception. All-ACC running back Wayne Gallman ran out of bounds to stop the clock late in the game with Auburn out of timeouts.
“We were putting drives together, but not finishing them with points,” Swinney said of his squad which gained 399 yards to 262 for Auburn. “Not as clean as I would’ve liked us to have been offensively.”
Swinney said the higher expectations shows growth in Clemson’s program.
“I think that’s great to be honest with you. I think that means we’ve become a relevant program when there’s a group of people that aren’t even happy with you when you win. I feel sorry for those folks. We’re just happy. We’re always going to get better,” he said. “I love that mentality and expectation. That’s where we want this program to be.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2016 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Swinney not concerned with lack of style in Clemson’s opener."