Clemson wants to bottle up winning feeling, momentum to close 2025 season

A week ago, Clemson suffered a “hard to get out of bed” loss to Duke.

What head coach Dabo Swinney called a 46-45 “heartbreaker” at Memorial Stadium that day will be remembered for a pass interference penalty against Clemson late in the game that earned Swinney a fine from the ACC for his postgame comments about the officiating.

That was also the Tigers’ second consecutive loss overall and third straight at home, nearly breaking Clemson’s spirit in what has been a frustrating and disappointing season for a preseason top-five team.

“You can’t really describe the feeling,” Swinney said about the Duke loss.

Still, the Clemson coach told his players heading into Saturday night’s game against Florida State that he “would rather know that feeling of absolute heartbreak and anguish than to never be in this arena.”

“You just pick yourself up and go again,” Swinney said. “That’s what sports teach you. That’s what football teaches you. You don’t always win. You get back up and you go.”

The Tigers (4-5, 3-4 ACC) did just that against the Seminoles, getting out to an 18-0 lead in the first half and cruising to a 24-10 victory, their first in Death Valley against a Power 4 school since October of last year.

“Just proud of the resilience,” Swinney said. “Our record isn’t what we hoped it would be right now, but to see these guys fighting the way they fight, that’s all you need to know about what’s under the hood with all of these guys. They’re made of the right stuff. That’s going to serve them well forever.”

The Clemson defense held the nation’s leading offense to under 400 yards and just one touchdown. Quarterback Cade Klubnik threw for one touchdown and rushed for another, and the Tigers didn’t have to sweat out a close game for a change.

“We never lost the fight, and we never will,” Klubnik said.

Swinney and the Tigers have felt an uphill struggle since the season-opening loss at LSU, but nobody thought it would get this bad for a team with so much preseason hype.

Legendary head coach Nick Saban said on ESPN’s “College GameDay” that he reached out to Swinney this week to offer his support.

“He said, ‘Let me know if you need anything,’ and I said, ‘Can you come play corner for me this week?’” Swinney said.

The disappointment of 2025 has hit the fan base hard, but they didn’t show that Saturday night in a packed Memorial Stadium. Klubnik said the pregame “Tiger Walk” was the best he’s seen in his four years as fans lined up to support the team.

It was still a rivalry game against Florida State, and while the hopes and dreams of an ACC championship or College Football Playoff berth have passed, just a chance at tasting victory was enough to create an electric atmosphere.

“They love the Tigers. They hang in there,” Swinney said. “Happy for our fans. They did an awesome job.”

It was also a big night for the seniors in what was likely their last night game in Death Valley. Clemson still plays Furman at home in two weeks, but Swinney indicated that it likely won’t be an evening start, so he was pleased to get a win for the veterans, especially Blake Miller.

The Clemson offensive lineman started his 50th consecutive game, a school record for a non-specialist, and said after the FSU win that there were a lot of Tigers banged up who could “pack it in” and not play anymore.

“It was awesome seeing the grit and determination that everyone had. I’m so grateful for the fight in this team,” Miller said. “To go out and get a win is amazing.”

A program that’s used to chasing championships in November is instead hoping to secure two wins in the next three games just to clinch a bowl destination. Their push to have a postseason continues Friday (7:30 p.m., ESPN) at No. 14 Louisville, which lost Saturday in overtime to Cal.

Clemson hasn’t been the team with the momentum heading to a game very often this year.

“If we can kind of bottle that up, that complementary football, those takeaways, and the turnover margin (from the FSU game), we can have a great finish,” Swinney said. “That’s all we can focus on.”