Fox Analyst Praises Swinney for Clemson’s, Chemistry, Cohesion Advantage

After a 4-1 start, some analysts are handing out praise for Dabo Swinney’s roster development with the Clemson Tigers.

Sep 21, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Cole Turner (22) celebrates with head coach Dabo Swinney after scoring a touchdown against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The summer was for taking shots at Clemson Tigers coach Dabo Swinney and not using the transfer portal.

The fall, apparently, is for singing his praises for playing the hand he had.

The Tigers (4-1, 3-0 in ACC) have won four straight games since they were blown out by the Georgia Bulldogs, who at the time was the No. 1 team in the country. The Tigers, now No. 10 in the AP Top 25, did not take in a single player through the transfer portal. The only other programs that didn’t, well, couldn’t — Air Force, Army and Navy.

Swinney absorbed plenty of criticism for not tapping into the portal after a 9-4 season. Well, now, some are seeing the method to the madness.

One is Fox’s lead television analyst, Joel Klatt. He made his weekly appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” Cowherd made the point that teams like Texas, now No. 1 in the nation, are enjoying an advantage because its offensive line has been together largely for the last two or three seasons.

Joel Klatt gave #Clemson praise within a conversation on the transfer portal on @TheHerd

“We bang on Dabo all the time. If you look at what they’ve done since UGA, they’ve grown and developed.”

He added

“Who wants to play them? I can tell you who doesn’t - Miami.”

🎥: @FS1 pic.twitter.com/5slW0cDpDR

— Grayson Mann (@gray_mann21) October 9, 2024

Klatt agreed and built on the point, using Clemson as an example.

“Look at Clemson, (it) is a great example of this,” Klatt said. “We bang on Dabo all the time. Now they've righted the ship a little bit. If you look at what they've done since Georgia — and that wasn’t good — but if you look at what they've done, they've grown, they've gotten better, they've developed and now all of a sudden they've got Garrett Riley as their offensive coordinator and (with) Cade Klubnik they can run the football. All of a sudden they're the number three scoring offense in all of college football since that loss to Georgia, scoring 48 points per game.”

When Clemson rushes for at least 200 yards and passes for at least 200 yards under Swinney the Tigers are 64-1. In program history, they are 114-1-1. The explosive plays stick out for the Tigers during this four-game winning streak. The offense is balanced, thanks in part of Klubnik, but also to running back Phil Mafah and wide receiver Antonio Williams, among others.

The Tigers are one of several teams in the ACC that are undefeated. But they’re the only team with three league wins heading into Saturday’s noon eastern game at Wake Forest (2-3, 1-1).

One of those teams is Miami. The Hurricanes and the Tigers don’t play each other in the regular season but may end up playing for the ACC Championship game in Charlotte in December.

Klatt wondered aloud who wants to play Clemson right now?

“Who wants to play them?” Klatt said. “I could guarantee you who doesn't want to play Clemson? Miami.”