Swinney doesn't hold back: 'This was an ass-kicking. Period.'

Swinney looks down at the field during the loss to Notre Dame.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Nov 06 00:26:03 GMT-04:00 2022

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA – Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney didn’t mince words in his postgame press conference. Saturday night was an ass-kicking.

Notre Dame was the more physical team from start to finish and won all three phases of the game in a 35-14 victory over No. 4 Clemson at Notre Dame Stadium Saturday night. The Tigers were shut out through the first three quarters -- showing no life offensively -- and was beaten up at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Even the special teams suffered a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown.

“First of all, congratulations to Notre Dame. They were outstanding. Just absolutely dominated us in every facet of football, starting with coaching, blocking, and tackling,” Swinney said during his postgame press conference. “You name it. It is what it is. So, congratulations to Coach Freeman and his staff. It was a great environment tonight. I always tell our team you get what you earned, and we earned this tonight for sure.

“Momentum is tough in a game like this. It's critical. And we lost momentum right out of the gate with the blocked punt touchdown. It was just very simple. We just flat out didn't do our job. That was huge momentum early and we never got it back. The blocked punt for the score, the pick-six, and another interception where we gave them the ball close was huge.”

Swinney shrugged his shoulders when asked his thoughts on why it came to be.

“This was an ass-kicking. Period. That is what it is. Just flat-out got our tails handed to us,” he said. “And again, in 14 years that hasn't happened a lot but it's happened a few times along the way. And we've handed out a bunch of them, too. But tonight, we were the bug, right? We got the bad end of that deal and we deserved every second of it. The message to the team? I am sorry. This is my responsibility. I am the head coach. But I will show up to work Monday. You have to respond."

Swinney called it a disappointing day, one that he didn’t see coming.

“At the end of the day, they were the more physical team. They were the more disciplined team. We had stupid penalties, and as a result, they were the better-coached team, period,” he said. “In 14 years as a head coach, we have had bad days. I don't want to overstate but this was a very disappointing day. And this is my responsibility. We just got out-coached in every facet of the game, and that's on me. I wish I could say I saw it coming. We had a great week of practice and preparation. But football is a crazy game. The ball can bounce funny from time to time. And there are times you want to forget. This is a really bad day and a really disappointing day.

"But we will have better days ahead. Tonight, wasn't the night.”