Tension, adjustments and grit: Swinney breaks down the victory over Stanford

Swinney talks to quarterback Cade Klubnik during the win over Stanford.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Sep 29 12:00:46 GMT-05:00 2024

CLEMSON — Head coach Dabo Swinney’s highlights of Clemson’s win over Stanford Saturday night in Death Valley included a gritty win, some tension, and second-half adjustments.

No. 15 Clemson scored 23 second-half points and held Stanford in check for the majority of the second half and defeated the Cardinal 40-14 to improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Stanford took advantage of watching the Clemson defense’s game film from the first three games and repeatedly found room on the perimeter as Clemson defensive ends lost contain or linebackers lost gap integrity. The Cardinal rushed 24 times for 168 yards, or seven yards a pop, in the first half. Clemson’s saving grace was Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels, who threw two redzone interceptions to blunt scoring drives.

Clemson’s offense scored a touchdown on the first drive and managed 17 first-half points, but drives were stunted as Cade Klubnik and the offense eschewed the easy stuff underneath for the deeper routes.

That all changed in the second half. The Tigers came out on the first drive and started taking the gimme plays, short and underneath, which opened up the deep shots and the running game. The defense made adjustments and, at one point in the fourth quarter, had allowed the Cardinal just 55 total yards. A garbage time touchdown ended the run, but Stanford ran it 20 times for just 68 yards in the second half.

Swinney called it a gritty win and it was good for a Tiger team that’s jumped out to big leads the last two weeks to face adversity.

“Great win for our guys. Gritty, gritty, tough Stanford team. I knew they were going to play us tough,” Swinney said. “It showed up and exactly what I saw on tape is what I saw tonight. A team that really plays with incredible effort. I think they were third in the nation coming in here in rush defense, two yards of carry. So, we were really proud of our guys for just finding a way. We ended up with over five yards per carry and (Phil) Mafah was about 5.8 (yards per carry) and we had 150 rushing. They weren't giving up much, so just a gritty game. It wasn't perfect, but honestly it was good to have to have a little strain, a little tension, and have to overcome a little bit throughout the course of the game. We certainly did that.”

Swinney didn’t like what he saw from Clemson’s defense in the first half but was proud of the adjustments made by Wes Goodwin and his staff.

“Defensively really terrible in the first half. Just really poor,” Swinney said. “And they had a few things that we weren't really ready for, but as bad as we were the first half, we were equally as good the second half. And so just love how we played, how we competed. The guys responded, we shut 'em out in the second half with our ones (starters), and I was really happy to see that. That was awesome.”

Clemson’s defense, stout in the red zone, was better on third down in the second half.

“They were 2-of-7 on third down after they 5-of-10 at halftime. But what we did do great all night was red zone defense, and that's an area that we needed to improve,” Swinney said. “And it was good. They were 1-of-4 in the red zone. The three turnovers were huge. And then three turnovers on downs. That’s six stops. And a couple of 'em were with great field position, including the opening score. So four sacks, that's a season-high. Had a bunch of TFL (tackles for loss). I thought Barrett Carter and Wood (Wade Woodaz) were awesome. Sammy Brown continues to just take advantage of his opportunities. A couple of sacks (for Brown), so a lot of good things again, but just the second half was great.”

Swinney said the offense was explosive despite missed opportunities.

“I didn't think we were perfect tonight, but we did what we needed to do, and they really were challenging us, and we just kept attacking,” Swinney said. “We really missed a couple of opportunities that we could have finished. There was a couple of them that were just close calls. We dropped two or three balls, so a lot that we can improve upon. But at the end of the day, big plays and 40 points, and that's three straight games we've done that. Another big play for Cole Turner, a big play for Olsen (Patt-Henry), good to see him get in the end zone. Brinny (Jake Briningstool) had a couple critical drops, but then he bounces back and has a touchdown, and I think puts him second in the career here. T.J. Moore didn't have a lot in the stat column, but he had a big third down and he drew a couple PIs and it was close on another one and they overturned the one big catch that he had. Good experience for him.”

Swinney said the team is getting better and growing in confidence.

“Just a good team win. A lot of good grit, a little bit of adversity within the game that we had to overcome. Didn't think we played our best game upfront,” Swinney said. “We gave up a little bit of pressure, give them some credit for that, but it'll make us better for sure. But overall, again, just a great win. And the team is growing. They're growing confidence. It's been great to be at home, but now we have to go on the road and good teams win at home. Great teams win on the road. And so, if we're going to be a great team, you got to be able to go on the road and handle your business. So, we have a couple weeks coming up on the road and opportunity for us, but we just have to keep going, just keep resetting each week and just trying to instill and create championship habits for these guys.”