Dabo Swinney: It's All About How You Finish

With Miami and the rival Gamecocks set to visit Death Valley over the final two weeks of the regular season, Dabo Swinney is once again looking for how his team responds.

Jason Priester All Clemson

For Dabo Swinney, it's all about how you finish.

November typically begins the part of the season that Swinney refers to as the "Championship Phase." The Tigers began the month by getting thumped by Notre Dame in South Bend, then responded with a convincing 31-16 win over a Louisville team that had won four straight.

With Miami and the rival Gamecocks set to visit Death Valley over the final two weeks of the regular season, Swinney is once again looking for how his team responds. This time to the success experienced in the win over the Cardinals. 

"It's all about the way you finish," Swinney said. "They remember November. It's all about how you finish. Lose these next two games, everyone forgets you were 9-1."

Sitting at No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings, a return trip to the playoff seems unlikely at this point. While the Atlantic Division and a spot in the ACC Championship Game opposite North Carolina are already locked up, there is still plenty left to play for.

Swinney's teams tend to have a reputation for finishing the season strong and the head coach is hoping that trend will continue.

"You want to be at your best this time of the year," Swinney said. "Most teams grow weary. The great ones grow stronger. We want to get hot and play our best ball. We have a lot of lessons we have learned. We have a lot of information. Information without application gets no transformation. We want to play our best ball in the fourth quarter (of the season). We have been a great fourth-quarter team for years around here. Let's put the season away."

A return trip to the playoff isn't completely off the table, though. There is a path for Clemson to climb back into the Top 4, but they are going to need a lot of help.

At the end of the day, all of that is out of Clemson's control. All the Tigers can do is take care of their remaining business, then let the chips fall where they may.

"You have to look at the totality of it," Swinney said. "I think it's natural that when you lose a game late, you're on the cross. Lose one early, things get forgotten. You have to get back at it and play well. That's why they have a committee to look at the totality of what teams do." 

"That's why I don't ever pay attention to the preseason stuff. Everyone makes a big deal about preseason hype and teams getting propped up. That's why they remember November. It's tougher when you lose a game late, but man it's hard to be 9-1. How many 9-1 teams are there? It's hard. It's hard to win. You don't ever want to lose, but it's human nature when you lose one late that people look at it differently."

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