If there is one person who can remain optimistic following a season-ending loss, it’s Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney.
Following a 38-24 loss to the No. 5 Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, the loss provided promise for how the Tigers will approach next season, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Following the game, Swinney spoke in a press conference that afternoon and acknowledged the heart of the team, which went into halftime down 28-10 with no sign of life going into the break. The Longhorns scored a touchdown on their final drive of the half, leaving all momentum with the home team in a tough environment.
“I’m proud of their fight,” the Clemson head coach said. “I’m proud of the heart that you saw of our group. We put ourselves in a position to win the game. I mean, we were down 18 points on the road against a really, really tough team.”
Perhaps the “really, really tough team” that Swinney referenced is an understatement. Texas entered the game allowing the least amount of points allowed in the country. Before the first round of the College Football Playoffs, the team was averaging 12.5 points per game. At that point in the season, only Georgia had scored more points on the Longhorns, with 30, than Clemson did in the playoff game.
“I think this one did a really good job of putting the ball in play,” offensive coordinator Garrett Riley said. “So with us playing with tempo, just trying to really attack every level of their defense, credit to them.”
The offensive success can be seen primarily in the performance of quarterback Cade Klubnik, who had a historic night in his hometown game. While throwing for 336 yards and three touchdowns, the junior made some vital throws in the third and fourth quarters to rally the Tigers back into a one-score game in the fourth quarter.
At that time, it was the most yards against the Longhorns all year and the most since the Allstate Sugar Bowl a year ago, where Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for over 400 yards against the team in the College Football Playoff.
Even Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian had high praise for the Clemson signal caller.
“The fact that his career didn’t start off maybe the way he would have liked at Clemson, and there was a lot of expectations for him there,” Sarkisian said after the game, “but to come out and have the season that he had this year for them, to get them to the playoffs, to be ACC champs, that’s a credit to him. He’s a very good football player.”
When looking to next season, the Tigers shouldn’t lose many players, especially on offense. Even with transfers and players declaring for the NFL draft, the only three starters that the team will be losing are running back Phil Mafah, tight end Jake Briningstool and offensive lineman Marcus Tate.
Klubnik also announced his return, being one of the top returning quarterbacks from the 2024 season. Throw in the freshmen standouts of T.J. Moore and Bryant Wesco Jr. back into the mix, as well as the returning of most of the offensive line, fans will be able to see a lot of the Clemson offense that found success for a majority of this season.
“Saw a lot of young talent,” Swinney said after the game. “How about T.J. Moore out there tonight. Had some big plays. Let’s go making plays. Got a lot of young talent.”
Swinney pulled the trigger on using the transfer portal, acquiring receiver Tristan Smith to help strengthen the wide receiver room. He will join Antonio Williams, who announced his plans to return to Clemson for his senior year.
The Tigers also threw their hat in the portal for defense, picking up defensive end Will Heldt from Purdue and linebacker Jeremiah Alexander from Alabama in the portal. With returners like Peter Woods, T.J. Parker and Sammy Brown, the team can reload efficiently to bring back the Clemson defense of old.
“All the guys are back and then some,” Swinney said. “We know we’re going to miss Payton Page, but everybody else is back. We’ve got a lot of great young linebackers that grew up this year. We’ve got some young talent at corner. A lot of young skill.”
While everybody else is returning, the Tigers got a big hire in the offseason from a coaching standpoint, picking up Tom Allen. As the former defensive coordinator of Penn State, Allen will strive to bring back the dominant Clemson defense that was present in its years of winning a national championship.
A loss like that can provide “lessons that you can learn,” which the Clemson head coach acknowledges. While it’s heartbreaking for a season to end, the future is bright with the Clemson Tigers. As long as the team retains its core, which it should, the Tigers will be hoping for back-to-back ACC championships and College Football Playoff appearances in 2025.
“That’s heart. That’s resiliency. That’s resolve. Just keep fighting, keep believing, and keep battling, and they did that,” Swinney said. “Don’t get any participation trophy or any of that stuff.
You came here to win. Hey, end of the day, they did a lot of good things.”
