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Dabo Swinney thinks Saturday night comes down to the last play.
That was his message at his press conference this week: A four-quarter game, make some big plays, win your matchups, win the turnover margin, and give yourself a chance in the fourth quarter.
Then he started talking about us, and he sounded a lot less sure.
He said this team doesn't really have any weaknesses. He said watching our offense is like looking at a video game. He called Darian Mensah an elite player who could be the first pick in the draft, and he remembered Cooper Barkate from last year's Duke game, which he admitted didn't go well for them. Then he got to Malachi Toney and called him "a dude of dudes." Hard to argue.
Former Hurricanes wide receiver Ahmmon Richards and I heard the same press conference. We came away from it in very different places.
What I found interesting was how he talked about us. He said this team doesn't really have any weaknesses.
Still, I'm not dismissing this one. This is a guy who has won championships. The year Carson Beck and Georgia beat them, Clemson regrouped and made the Playoff anyway. These aren't mercenaries. They're his guys, at home, at night, probably in the rain, with two corners who can really play. Wake Forest might be the better team with the better quarterback.
I still think this could be the toughest test we've had.
He watched the 2015 game as a UM recruit, the 58-0 game where Clemson embarrassed us on national television, and he hasn't forgotten how they handled it. He hasn't forgotten the turnover chain stuff either. But what really ended it for him was Dabo's old position on paying players.
"Him talking about NIL when it first got going and not wanting to pay the players, pretty much the old model of guys performing and working hard for free," AR said. "So I really don't have no love."
As for the one-score prediction, AR shrugged it off. That's Dabo doing his job. The spread against LSU was around a touchdown and Clemson got run off the field 51-10. They didn't look ready. They didn't look like they wanted to be out there. Now he's home and trying to galvanize the building.
AR's bigger point is that the roles have flipped.
"This feels reversed," he said. "This feels like us back then when we used to play Clemson. We come in and we don't have enough Jimmys and Joes to get the job done. When you look at our team, we just have more top-end talent than they do."
He counts two really good corners, a good linebacker and a good edge rusher on their side. We have more of an overall unit. But he doesn't want anybody walking in thinking Clemson is just going to lie down.
"A snake is not dead until you cut off the head," AR said. "And even when the head is cut off, some snakes still bite. You got to come in and make them quit."
The corners are the real problem. Ashton Hampton (No. 2) is probably a first-round pick. Elliot Washington II (No. 3) has the better ball skills. He's a Venice kid, same high school as Damon Wilson II, and he came over from Penn State. They also added two safeties from the portal who make a lot of tackles. The roster is better than it was a year ago.
"Sometimes history has a way of repeating itself in an odd way," AR said. "This is our opportunity to get some get back."
Prime time. Fowler and Herbstreit on the call. The whole country watching. If we're the team I think we are, we go up there and make them quit.
AR and I get into a lot more on the show, including Dabo's full comments on Mensah and Toney and a breakdown of how Clemson is going to try to attack us.
Dabo Swinney thinks Saturday night comes down to the last play.
That was his message at his press conference this week: A four-quarter game, make some big plays, win your matchups, win the turnover margin, and give yourself a chance in the fourth quarter.
Then he started talking about us, and he sounded a lot less sure.
He said this team doesn't really have any weaknesses. He said watching our offense is like looking at a video game. He called Darian Mensah an elite player who could be the first pick in the draft, and he remembered Cooper Barkate from last year's Duke game, which he admitted didn't go well for them. Then he got to Malachi Toney and called him "a dude of dudes." Hard to argue.
Former Hurricanes wide receiver Ahmmon Richards and I heard the same press conference. We came away from it in very different places.
My Take
Nothing Dabo said this week was crazy. He told his guys it's a four-quarter game that comes down to the last play. Make some big plays, win your matchups, win the turnover margin, and give yourself a chance in the fourth quarter. Some of our fans took offense to the one-score talk. Vegas has us by 17. That's coach talk. Every coach in America says it.What I found interesting was how he talked about us. He said this team doesn't really have any weaknesses.
Still, I'm not dismissing this one. This is a guy who has won championships. The year Carson Beck and Georgia beat them, Clemson regrouped and made the Playoff anyway. These aren't mercenaries. They're his guys, at home, at night, probably in the rain, with two corners who can really play. Wake Forest might be the better team with the better quarterback.
I still think this could be the toughest test we've had.
AR's Take
AR was never really a Clemson recruit, so there's no recruiting grudge here. His problem with Dabo is bigger than that.He watched the 2015 game as a UM recruit, the 58-0 game where Clemson embarrassed us on national television, and he hasn't forgotten how they handled it. He hasn't forgotten the turnover chain stuff either. But what really ended it for him was Dabo's old position on paying players.
"Him talking about NIL when it first got going and not wanting to pay the players, pretty much the old model of guys performing and working hard for free," AR said. "So I really don't have no love."
As for the one-score prediction, AR shrugged it off. That's Dabo doing his job. The spread against LSU was around a touchdown and Clemson got run off the field 51-10. They didn't look ready. They didn't look like they wanted to be out there. Now he's home and trying to galvanize the building.
AR's bigger point is that the roles have flipped.
"This feels reversed," he said. "This feels like us back then when we used to play Clemson. We come in and we don't have enough Jimmys and Joes to get the job done. When you look at our team, we just have more top-end talent than they do."
He counts two really good corners, a good linebacker and a good edge rusher on their side. We have more of an overall unit. But he doesn't want anybody walking in thinking Clemson is just going to lie down.
"A snake is not dead until you cut off the head," AR said. "And even when the head is cut off, some snakes still bite. You got to come in and make them quit."
The Names That Matter
Bryant Wesco Jr. is the one I'd circle. We compared him to AR a year ago. He hasn't developed on that trajectory, but he's wiry and explosive, and he returned a punt last week. On defense, Sammy Brown (No. 47) is one of the best linebackers in the country and Will Heldt (No. 13) is the pass rusher.The corners are the real problem. Ashton Hampton (No. 2) is probably a first-round pick. Elliot Washington II (No. 3) has the better ball skills. He's a Venice kid, same high school as Damon Wilson II, and he came over from Penn State. They also added two safeties from the portal who make a lot of tackles. The roster is better than it was a year ago.
Where We Landed
We both have Miami. Neither of us thinks this is a walkover. I respect what Dabo can do with a week of preparation and a home crowd. AR respects nothing about him and wants the scoreboard to say so."Sometimes history has a way of repeating itself in an odd way," AR said. "This is our opportunity to get some get back."
Prime time. Fowler and Herbstreit on the call. The whole country watching. If we're the team I think we are, we go up there and make them quit.
AR and I get into a lot more on the show, including Dabo's full comments on Mensah and Toney and a breakdown of how Clemson is going to try to attack us.
