Dabo Swinney: 'There's Only One Thing Off the Table' for Tigers

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media to recap the disappointing loss to Notre Dame and look ahead to the Tigers' upcoming matchup with Louisville.

Jason Priester All Clemson

Dabo Swinney made it clear on Tuesday, that despite the Tigers' disappointing loss in South Bend to Notre Dame, that all of the team's goals going into the season are still attainable. 

With the program's 14-game winning streak ending in South Bend, the only thing his Clemson team can't do is go unbeaten.

"There's not anything that we strive for every single year that's not attainable to this team," Swinney said. "We've won the opener, we can win the division, we can still win the state championship, we can still win this league, and we can still win the closer. So there's not anything... there's only one thing that's off the table for us and that's going undefeated. That ain't gonna happen."

"Every time we did all those goals, we've either won the national championship or we've had some kind of amazing year."

The Tigers will now turn their attention to Louisville and dynamic QB Malik Cunningham, and Swinney said it's all about how his team responds this week, and so far he's like what he's seen.

"It's all about responding and just getting back to work and that's what our guys did," Swinney said. "It's been a tough couple of days. In our job, when we fail, we fail in front of the world. And that's a tough, tough thing, especially when you're dealing with young people. 

"So it was a long Sunday and a long day yesterday. Mental Monday, get your mind right. Let's refocus, again with the right perspective. Take ownership. Learn from it. Let's grow from it and then you get back to work. That's what winners do, what competitors do.  And again, that's why we've been so consistent and successful around here for a long time. You respond and I loved how our guys responded yesterday."

After starting the season 1-2, Louisville has now won four consecutive games and five out of the last six. That includes a 48-21 dismantling of Wake Forest, in which the Cardinals picked off Sam Hartman three times and forced seven turnovers total.

"Another big challenge, that's a good football team that we're getting ready to play," Swinney said. "These guys are fast, a physical team. They're a veteran team on both sides of the ball. Seems like we're playing a lot of those types of teams. And now they've won four in a row so they're really a confident bunch.

"They're playing well offensively. They're balanced. They're explosive. This quarterback is special. He's a very dynamic player. I mean, he's a problem. And just a guy I got a lot of respect for. He's a great competitor. Three really good running backs just like last week. Very veteran offensive line, good receivers, another good tight end. But I think the balance that they have creates the explosiveness. Especially with the quarterback running the show back there. Veteran guy that obviously, is again, really, really dangerous."

Louisville also features an aggressive defense, with Swinney noting that after committing six turnovers in the past two games, his team has to get back to protecting the football.

"They got a bunch of turnovers that they've created," Swinney said. "So it's a good football team. For us, definitely have to get back on track. Number one thing for us we gotta take care of the ball. That's just first and foremost. That's the number one thing in our plan to win. And we did a really good job of that for seven games with three turnovers in seven games. And we've had six in two. So not real complicated. You're gonna struggle when you do that. You're gonna miss a lot of opportunities. So we've got to correct that first and foremost to get back on track."

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