The Clemson Tigers bounced back from a season-opening loss to the Georgia Bulldogs with back-to-back victories, one of which was to open ACC play against the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
Clemson is averaging 42 points per game despite being held to just a field goal against Georgia. The offensive explosions against the Appalachian State Mountaineers and NC State have the team on the right track heading into October.
Clemson is No. 17 in this week’s AP Poll. They have just one more game against a top-25 opponent this season: November 2, when they host the No. 15 Louisville Cardinals.
The Tigers’ path to the ACC Championship and College Football Playoff is in their own hands. However, some are concerned that head coach Dabo Swinney, who hasn’t taken the team to the College Football Playoff since 2019, has lost his touch.
On Tuesday, Swinney fired back at those critics with a strong message of his own.
“People say what they want to say. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. I don’t read any of it, I don’t listen to it, I don’t let any of that in my mind. I just focus on doing my job every day. I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody, man. I’m just trying to love these guys here, man; I’m just trying to do my job and do what’s best for Clemson day in and day out, put these guys in the best position to go win, and worry about none of that stuff. People say whatever they want,” Swinney said during his weekly media availability via On3.
Swinney then expanded upon needing to block out the noise and focus on the positives.
“We’ve created a society where it’s just normal to attack people, destroy people, make stuff up, create narratives. That’s just the society we live in. So you have to choose, as a person, whether or not you’re gonna let that type of stuff affect you, or you just rise above it and focus on what matters. But I don’t participate in that stuff, so that doesn’t matter to me. I can care less, you know?” the 54-year-old head coach added.
Clemson will host the Stanford Cardinal this Saturday and look to improve to 2-0 in ACC play.
[On3]
