Dabo Swinney Speaks on Clemson/Notre Dame Round Two
By Zach Wagner
Head Football Coach Dabo Swinney conducted his weekly Tuesday morning press conference this morning from the Allen N. Reeves Football Facility. Swinney previewed the Clemson Tigers Football Team’s upcoming game this weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina as the Tigers look for their sixth straight ACC Championship. It will be no small task for Clemson though, as they will have to take down the only team to defeat them this year, the second ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
The first meeting of the two teams, a 47-40 double overtime loss for Clemson in South Bend, did not feature some of the Tigers best players. Trevor Lawrence (COVID), James Skalski (groin), Mike Jones Jr. (hamstring), and multiple other starters were out for the top-5 matchup way back in November.
This season has been no easy task for Dabo Swinney and his staff and players.
“Of the 12 teams I’ve coached here, no team has had the challenges that this team has had to face.”
Since the inaugural ACC Championship Game back in December of 2005, Clemson has been featured in seven of the league’s best game. The Tigers have a 6-1 record and are the first ever power five school to reach the championship game six straight years.
With the announcement that back up linebacker Jake Venables will be out for the remainder of the season after breaking his arm against Virginia Tech, Swinney stated that he was confident in the guys behind starting linebacker James Skalski. Sophomore Kane Patterson and redshirt freshman LaVonta Bentley filled in nicely in the second half of the game up in Blacksburg and Bentley registered four tackles and a sack in the Tigers win.
Many teams have had games canceled or postponed this year. Teams have also had to deal with their best players “opting out” of the season to focus on the upcoming NFL Draft. Clemson, on the other hand, has not had to deal with any of that.
“I told our guys back in June that we would be coming back in July, I told them that no one had to come back, and there would be no hard feelings at all” said Swinney. “Everyone on our team is here, everyday though.”
#3 Clemson and #2 Notre Dame will kick off inside of Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday at 4 P.M. The game can be seen on ABC.
