Clemson Tigers' Dabo Swinney Makes Bold Claim Ahead of South Carolina Game

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney spoke out with a bold claim ahead of today's game against South Carolina.

Nov 23, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney communicates during a game against The Citadel Bulldogs at Memorial Stadium. / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers are set to face off against the South Carolina Gamecocks today. It's rivalry week and these two teams do not like each other very much.

At this point in the season, both teams are fighting for their College Football Playoff hopes.

Coming into today's game, Clemson is ranked No. 12 in the country. They're right on the edge of being a contender to get into the playoff. As for South Carolina, they hold the No. 15 ranking in the nation.

Both of these teams have looked like contenders throughout the course of the 2024 college football season. They should put on a good show for the fans this afternoon.

Ahead of this showdown, Swinney spoke out with a very bold take about his Tigers. He truly believes that Clemson can play and compete against any team in the nation.

“I think we’ve got one of the best offenses in the country,” Swinney said. “We’ve got a quarterback playing at a high level that’s incredibly capable. We’ve got a Butkus finalist on defense. We’re a good football team. We’re not perfect, we’re flawing like everybody else. I mean, everybody has some flaws but we’re a team can, I think, play with anybody in the country.”

So far this season, there have been two games that the Tigers were not very competitive in.

Of course, those two games were their Week 1 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 34-3 and their only other loss of the year to Louisville by a score of 33-21.

Unfortunately, those two losses have put them in a place where they may not get into the playoffs.

Swinney is 100 percent correct that Clemson has a ton of talent on both sides of the football. From a pure talent perspective, they should be able to play with the best teams in the nation. However, they have not shown it in their two toughest games of the year.

Today against South Carolina, they have a massive opportunity. If they can come in and completely dominate the Gamecocks, they could send a strong signal to the selection committee about why they should get into the College Football Playoff.

A narrow win might not be enough to do it. If they blow out South Carolina and prove they can dominate a ranked opponent, they might stand a chance.

All of that being said, everything about their playoff hopes rests on the Tigers' ability to not just compete, but also soundly beat a good competitive opponent.

Hopefully, Swinney's bold statement ends up being correct and Clemson is ready to prove that they can win these kind of games.