Swinney proud of Clemson's fight in ugly win: "That's what champions do"

"Man, what a day," Swinney said.

Grayson Mann · Staff Writer · Sunday, September 07 2025

CLEMSON - Dabo Swinney took a deep breath as he stood behind the podium.

He let out a large sigh.

"Man, what a day," Swinney said.

He likely didn't envision the game taking nearly six hours to complete, nor did he likely predict being on the wrong end of a halftime result against Troy, but Clemson certainly was on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing 16-3 after a messy half, which involved a 90-minute delay, isn't ideal for anyone.

For those still in attendance for the Tigers' 27-16 win over Troy, getting to that result was a rocky climb that left more questions than answers about the 2025 Tigers.

Reeling from the disappointment of the loss to LSU, Clemson continued to crumble seemingly, encapsulated by a Cade Klubnik pick-six that began the boo birds from the crowd.

Swinney was one of those displeased with his team's performance, who was, as he puts it, right along with them.

Still, the main point that Swinney will come away with is his team's resilience. Clemson certainly got its teeth kicked in, and the media, which Swinney encouraged to write about how the offense was not up to par, was ready to write a sequel to the LSU chapter.

"Guys stepped up and they responded, and it was a huge, huge win for us," Swinney said. "Anytime you can get a win, it's good. But I think it's the third biggest comeback in Death Valley history. And there's a reason why there are only three because usually when you get down like that, you usually get beaten. So just proud of the heart of our team and their courage and toughness and resilience to get it done."

One player Clemson fans were counting on to get it done was the senior quarterback in Klubnik, who once again, delivered an uneven performance that included a costly turnover.

Klubnik certainly played better in the second half, with his best play of the half coming on a deep post to Bryant Wesco for his second touchdown of the day.

Swinney reiterated his belief in Klubnik after the LSU opener, and he feels like the second half showed what his quarterback is made of.

"And as I told you last week, if the worst part of that game last week was that our best player played poor, sign me up for that," Swinney said. "Because there's one thing I got no doubt on. It's what two's made of. It shines you up, or it grinds you up. It's all about what you're made of, I know what that kid's made of, and you saw that tonight."

Clemson's performance on Saturday in front of its home crowd was ugly for the second straight week, but facing significant adversity, the Tigers found a way to pull through.

"So man, that's what champions do," Swinney said. "That's what resilience looks like. That's what courage looks like. That's what toughness looks like, especially mental toughness. And I was super proud of how they responded. So just an incredible fight from our team and something that we can build on for sure."