Dabo Swinney Not Thinking About Staff Changes for Clemson Tigers After CFP Loss

Dabo Swinney isn't quite thinking about staff changes for the Clemson Tigers just yet.

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney looks on during the second quarter against the Texas Longhorns of the CFP National Playoff first round game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers came up short against the Texas Longhorns in the first-round of the College Football Playoff, losing by a score of 38-24. 

It was a tough loss for the Tigers, who came on the road looking to pull off the upset. Things actually started out quite well for Clemson, as they had an early lead after scoring a touchdown on their opening drive. 

This game figured to be a tough one for the Tigers, as the Longhorns came in with one of the best defenses in the country. Their defense certainly looked good, but Cade Klubnik and the passing offense impressed as well. 

Unfortunately, despite their star quarterback throwing for over 300 yards, Clemson was behind for most of the game. Texas had a really strong first half after allowing the opening drive score, as their offense performed very well, especially on the ground. 

Stopping the run has been an issue for the Tigers all season, and it cost them in this game. After the loss, head coach Dabo Swinney was asked about potentially making changes to the staff on the defensive side of the ball. 

“Aw man, we’re not worried about any of that stuff,” Swinney said during his postgame press conference via the Clemson insider. “We had a great year, we won the championship. We’ve got to improve in all areas. We’ve got an excellent staff. All those guys work really hard and well together. We’ve got to improve everywhere if we want to get to the top. We were good enough to get to the playoff, good enough to win the league. Not good enough to win it all. So, we’ve got to get better in all areas.”

In the loss, Clemson was gashed on the ground. The Longhorns were able to run for 292 rushing yards, and had both of their running backs go for over 100 rushing yards. Furthermore, there were a lot of explosive runs against the Tigers, as it wasn’t just Texas methodically going down the field against them. 

Stopping the run has been an issue all season for Clemson, and it wasn’t surprising to see them struggle against a talented group from Texas. Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner each averaged over seven yards per carry, with Blue over 10 yards per carry in an outstanding performance. 

While Swinney likely isn’t thinking about changes now, he will have to consider some options in the offseason, as the Tigers won’t compete for a National Championship with the inability to stop the run.