Tigers look to start another winning streak as dangerous Louisville comes calling

Clemson returns home where it has the nation's longest active home winning streak and the longest in ACC history, at 38.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Nov 08 18:12:03 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – The goal is to start another winning streak.

When Notre Dame beat Clemson last Saturday, it broke a 14-game winning streak for the Tigers, the third-longest streak in school history. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney knows his team didn’t play well in South Bend, but he knows his program will respond in the right way. Why? Because it’s always responded.

“We're coming off a very tough weekend. I'm proud of our guys at the end of the day. We won 14 in a row, which is hard to do. It didn't go our way the other night and I give Notre Dame credit for that,” Swinney said Tuesday. “We missed an opportunity for sure. 14 in a row is the third-longest streak in the history of our program. We've always responded. The good news is we have another opportunity this week. We're a better team than we showed the other night. We're 8-1 and not 5-3. Every goal we have is intact. Everything is attainable to this team. There's only one thing that we can't have and that's being undefeated. But very few teams are undefeated.

"You want to win every game, and it's hard to do that. It's all about responding and getting back to work.”

Swinney said his team needs to refocus after failing on the big stage.

"When we fail, we fail in front of the world. That's a tough thing, especially when you're dealing with young people. Let's refocus,” Swinney said. “With the right perspective, you take ownership, get focused and get back to work. That's why we've been so successful around here for a long time. I love how we responded yesterday (in practice) and our staff on Sunday.”

The first opportunity is this Saturday at home against Louisville (3:30 p.m., ESPN).

"Louisville is a good team, a big challenge. They're a fast, physical team, a veteran team on both sides of the ball,” Swinney said. “They have won four in a row. They're very confident. Offensively, they are balanced, and explosive and their quarterback is special and dynamic. He's a problem. He's a great competitor. They have three great backs, another good offensive line and receivers who can make plays.

"Defensively, they're very aggressive. They're second in the nation in sacks. They're right there in the top ten in tackles for loss. They're second in the nation in takeaways. They create turnovers.”

Swinney said the Tigers can’t turn the ball over, and the goal is to start another winning streak.

"No. 1 thing for us ... we have to take care of the ball,” he said. “It's No. 1 in our plan to win. We had three turnovers in seven games and then we've had six in the last two,” he said. “It's not complicated to see what happens when you do that. We have to correct that and get back on track. We just have to respond in all areas as a good team does. And that is my expectation. The last time we lost a game, we went on a 14-game win streak. The goal is to start another streak."

The Tigers face a stiff challenge at quarterback this week with Malik Cunningham, who is 7th in the ACC in rushing (regardless of position) with 541 rushing yards.

“Last year he had a 52-yard touchdown on a zone read. He can rip it down the field. He can dance around and create and extend, so you have to cover forever. He's fearless,” Swinney said of Cunningham. “Last year, fourth and one, and the game could be over. He makes a throw and I still don't know how he made that play. He threw it to a guy on the sideline who made a play between two people. I have a lot of respect for him as a competitor. He's a great young man. He's like Lamar (Jackson). He can beat you in every way possible. He stresses how you play him, how you rush him and defend him. They take a lot of shots, too. There is a lot of misdirection. It's a very balanced team."