Clemson Tigers Dabo Swinney Has Clear Message for Team Ahead of Florida State Game

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney is hoping his players are prepared to play outside of Memorial Stadium.

Sep 21, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney reacts during the third quarter against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Memorial Stadium. / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

In an interesting schedule quirk, the Clemson Tigers didn’t have to leave campus for more than a month.

Their season opener on August 31st against the Georgia Bulldogs was played at a neutral site in Atlanta, Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The following week, they returned for their home opener at Memorial Stadium against the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

That 66-20 blowout jump started the team and they haven’t slowed down since.

After a Week 3 bye, they returned to the field for their first ACC game of the season against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Another dominating performance occurred, as they won 59-35.

Last week, the good times kept rolling. Playing again at home, the Tigers destroyed the Stanford Cardinal 40-14.

Riding a three-game winning streak and off to a 2-0 start in the ACC, Clemson is set to embark on a trip for their first true road game of the year. They will be heading south to Tallahassee to face off against the reeling Florida State Seminoles.

With Florida State being 1-4 on the season, this game lost a lot of the shine it had coming into the campaign. Both teams were projected to be near the top of the conference, battling it out for the automatic bid into the College Football Playoff.

That isn’t going to happen for the Seminoles.

But, head coach Dabo Swinney knows that winning on the road, even against a struggling team, is challenging.

He made that message clear to his team in a quote that was shared over at ESPN by their college football panel as one of the best heading into competition for Week 6.

"We had a good month here at home. That's great for us, but you've got to go take it on the road. I tell them all the time: Good teams win at home, great teams win on the road. You've got to be able to execute when they're not all cheering for you,” Swinney said about his team’s first true road game.

The Tigers leader on the sidelines knows as much as anyone about what it takes to be a great team. Does this group have what it takes to rise to the occasion, going from good to great?

His group is playing well, but there will be challenges when going on the road.

Complacency cannot set in, as there is still plenty of work for Clemson to do if they want to achieve their goal of playing in the College Football Playoff at the end of the season.