Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney expressed significant dissatisfaction with his team’s performance during their final preseason intersquad scrimmage on Thursday. Swinney described it as the worst day the team has experienced, noting a lack of focus and numerous mistakes.
Some expected starters had limited playing time, as the coaching staff aimed to evaluate reserve players for potential inclusion on the travel roster for the upcoming LSU game on September 5. However, Swinney was not impressed with what he observed, stating that many players who received unexpected opportunities were exposed.
The team struggled with mental cues, committing penalties and experiencing late starts. Swinney attributed some of these issues to external factors, including the start of classes on Wednesday and the intense heat of fall camp, which has made practices more rigorous this year. Despite these challenges, Swinney emphasized that the team was running familiar plays, indicating that the issues stemmed from a lack of concentration rather than new material.
Defensively, Swinney pointed out too many mistakes that could prove costly in a game, particularly dumb penalties in the red zone. He cited an instance during a two-minute drill where a defensive player picked off a ball but continued running after the play was effectively over. These correctable errors must be addressed within two weeks before the Tigers travel to Baton Rouge.
Swinney acknowledged the typical distractions that arise at the end of August, coupled with the increasing anticipation for the season opener against the No. 11 ranked team, which will also host College GameDay. He stressed the importance of the team moving past these issues to have a chance at upsetting their first opponent, concluding that the performance on both sides of the ball was simply not good enough.
