10
Loading video...
By Jordan Sigler
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The Clemson Tigers suffered their most humiliating defeat of the season to Georgia Tech at home on Saturday.
The Tigers dropped to 6-4 on the season after losing to the Yellow Jackets, who were just 2-7 before playing Clemson.
Swinney has faced criticism this season amid issues with the offense. The Tigers were outgained in total yards 407-228 by GT. Clemson turned to three quarterbacks on Saturday amid injuries to Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds. The Tigers gave up four sacks and only gained 86 yards on the ground via 34 carries.
Read More on NCAA
During his postgame news conference, Swinney apologized to fans for the Tigers' play this season.
More News: Exclusive: Breakout NFL Executives Who Could Become Future General Managers
...
More News: Vikings Front Office ‘Doesn’t Like’ Their 1st-Round Rookie ‘At All’
"I'm just sorry," Swinney said, via Jackson Castellano of The Post and Courier. "I carry that pain, burden and responsibility. But I also know, just as a person of faith, man, God don't allow storms without some type of purpose, so we just got to keep going and get back up tomorrow and fight again.
"I love our fans, and they just support us ... and my heart breaks for them because I know how much they care, and they've always supported me, and just really disappointed anytime we don't get it done. Certainly today, we (didn't) deserve it, and that's my responsibility."
Reynolds suffered a knee injury in the first quarter. Pearman replaced him, but went just 2 of 6 passing for 6 yards before Vizzina replaced him. Vizzina battled through an ankle injury to play against Georgia Tech. He went 12 of 27 passing for 133 yards and one interception.
But the story of the day was Clemson's run defense. The Yellow Jackets rushed for 269 yards and two scores on 52 carries.
Clemson has a short turnaround before playing Duke on Friday. Swinney said days like Saturday's 20-6 loss to a bad Georgia Tech team happen, but the Tigers must turn their focus to the Blue Devils. He likes the way the locker room responded to the defeat.
"When you're a competitor, put yourself in this arena, you're gonna have some good days, have some bad days," Swinney said. "I wish everything went the way we wanted every time for life. But it's not reality. So when you have days like this, you learn, and you press forward. You stay together.
"It's good to see how they're responding in the locker room. If you face the brutal truth, you watch the tape, there's a lot that you'll see that we could do better in all areas, and then you flush it. You put your eyes on what's next. So it's just as simple as that. We got a good Duke team, probably one of the better defenses that we will face."
The loss to Georgia Tech might make Swinney reconsider how to approach the offseason, as the Tigers have hit a new low under the legendary head coach.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines