Dabo Swinney’s Rant is Overblown

Count me among those who are somewhat less than satisfied with a 21 point, 5th straight win over South Carolina. That’s a mind-numbing sentence to read, much less type. It’s spoiled, whiny, negative, and honestly I’m aware it’s an entirely incorrect and unfair opinion. But Clemson’s defense gave up 500 yards and allowed a slight shift in the narrative which has been so crucial to widening and maintaining the current gap between these two programs: for the first time under Will Muschamp, South Carolina can point to one area where Clemson didn’t just completely destroy them, but they found actual success.

Clemson delivered its most dominant and seemingly effortless offensive performance in ages, yet laid such an egg defensively that they gave up the most points and yards to the Gamecocks in decades, if not ever. When a Gamecock buddy of mine in the high school coaching ranks let me know he was pleased after the game (he already had no hope for the Gamecock defense), I commented the South Carolina collective were quite possibly more satisfied with this loss than Clemson were with this win; he didn’t disagree. Neither, it seems, did Dabo Swinney.

It’s a shame some are a bit too vocal in their frustration and it’s even worse if the frustration is targeted at a specific player. I for one think the dissatisfaction derives from the defense’s failure to adjust — a frustration you know the entire staff shares — and more importantly, the fact Gamecocks are now “crowing” about a moral victory in a 21 point loss.

Dabo’s comments are either off base (nobody is more vocally disgusted with Clemson’s win than his own defensive coordinator) or completely overblown; I doubt any of us have actually lost sight of the dominant era in which we find ourselves and the amazing heights this program continues to reach, no matter how annoyed we are that our rivals have found solace in a 21 point defeat.

I think Dabo knows this. He knows nobody is actually unhappy with another win over South Carolina; he’s just as frustrated with the defensive performance as the fans are. But you know what? It’s ok for fans to be greedy. I think his rant was another calculated attempt to get his team’s attention just like his infamous rants on South Carolina in 2011 and Clemsoning in 2015, which he viewed as sticking his neck out for his team and was then rewarded with dominant followup performances from a focused locker room. This is another such attempt, and the attitude you’ll see from the players in interviews and media sessions will reflect it.

Consider this: when Clemson receives too much praise it’s Dabo himself who rejects the notion “it’s Alabama, Clemson and everyone else;” he insists Alabama is a cut above his own team and lumps his in with “everyone else.” Yet when his fanbase is frustrated his team doesn’t perform to the Alabama standard which he set publicly himself, he lashes out as if we’re screaming at him the sky is falling. He does this not only to regain control of the narrative, but to put the chip back on Clemson’s shoulder.

He justifiably hates all forms of negativity, but I don’t think Dabo could be so off base to believe we’re unhappy. He certainly won’t leave because of it, and knows the one place for which he’d ever potentially leave Clemson has even more demanding fans than we do. No, this rant is another calculated jolt to his locker room; the negativity he perceived is entirely overblown just as his comments have now become. There isn’t a Clemson fan on earth unhappy with 12-0 or 5 in a row, and Dabo knows it.

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I said last week Clemson would have to play horribly AND Jake Bentley would need to have the game of his life to keep this game close after halftime. One certainly happened, but not both, and Clemson was able to pull away after halftime with an unstoppable offense. The South Carolina defense was in shambles before the game anyway, but Clemson’s execution and play-calling were so crisp that it can’t be discounted.

Trevor Lawrence was nearly flawless and Travis Etienne had over 20 carries for just the second time in his career (nice to see the staff is aware there’s a Doak Walker Award finalist in the backfield). It didn’t matter how deeply Clemson drew into its bench, they moved the ball at will. This was an A+ performance and it’s why South Carolina never truly threatened the upset.

However, I am finally ready to stop claiming (more like hoping) this is the best Clemson defense of all time. There’s no way to sugarcoat this: Clemson gave up 35 points to South Carolina for the first time since 1975, but worst of all, surrendered over 500 passing yards to a Will Muschamp team with a rookie offensive coordinator. No unit is perfect and every other good defense (specifically Michigan and Alabama) gave up plenty of points and yardage this weekend, but the best defense in school history wouldn’t bust again and again this late in the season.

The pass defense against Texas A&M wasn’t as alarming as it seemed upon review; busts occurred but weren’t rampant and Clemson had defenders in position. Kellen Mond just extended plays and found some jaw-dropping catches from his receivers (ask LSU about this recurring phenomenon). So I gave the pass defense the benefit of the doubt, and felt vindicated in every game since. A&M wasn’t as bad as it seemed, plus came in week 2 after all; the defense built so much depth in the weeks since, and the whole unit was rested, experienced, and dominant.

Then Bentley stood in a relatively clean pocket and found open receivers all night, whether by drilling bullets in front of soft zones or lobbing simple tosses into busted coverages. Bentley played brilliantly, he was calm and smart — and hopefully earned some respect from his own mercurial fan base — but did nothing spectacular and there is no excuse for the display on the field Saturday night.

The recruiting misses at safety in recent years were never more evident than Saturday night. The inability to pressure or confound Bentley was confounding on its own. Brent Venables was contrite in his scorched-earth criticism for his unit and himself; last week the offense needed the wake up call and we saw the result in a 744 yard explosion, this week we can hope for the same rebound from the defense. It’s poetic justice Pitt offers the remedy.

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1st Quarter Film Review

Clemson punches it in after a few inside zone runs with Feaster and Choice.

The quarter ends on the Gamecocks’ ensuing snap.