Swinney sees plenty of positives and negatives in win over Florida St.

Swinney reacts to a call against the Seminoles.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Oct 31 20:20:24 GMT-04:00 2021

Dabo Swinney saw plenty of positives in his team’s 30-20 victory over Florida State Saturday night, including a dominant second-half effort by the defense. But there are still plenty of worrisome mistakes as the Tigers head to Louisville next weekend.

Clemson (5-3 overall and 4-2 in the ACC) plays at Louisville (4-4, 2-3) at 7:30 pm next Saturday (ACC Network). The Cardinals hung tough at NC State before losing late.

Swinney, speaking to the media Sunday, talked about the win over the Seminoles.

"Last night was a great win for us. We did a lot of things in the game we haven't been doing well,” Swinney said. “We moved the ball well all night. We just didn't capitalize at times. A lot of good things. I'm pleased with some big plays in the passing game and we ran the ball effectively. I'm proud mostly with 3:48 to go to go win it. A lot of things we can build on and take some confidence from. Special teams, the biggest disappointment was the missed kicks. Our kickoff coverage does a great job for us and the return game is getting better.

"Defensively, I was disappointed in the first half. We had a lot of negatives - the 3rd and 13, a missed sack and off-sides on back-to-back plays. We lost containment a couple of times and down on the goal line we didn't line up right. Obviously the one 75-yard play, that was disappointing. But we played a tremendous, tremendous second half defensively. We shut them out, stopped the run and dominated the line of scrimmage. No. 98 (Myles Murphy) was outstanding. The fourth and 1 was a huge stop for us, a big, big stop. Barrett Carter continues to get better. The six sacks was the most we have had all year and on the most difficult guy to sack. The thing I was most proud of defensively was how we finished the game. We got a big stop late to get the ball back and then the offense went back and scored. Just tremendous situational football.”

Swinney then updated the injuries.

"Injury-wise, (Will) Putnam was able to come back in and tough it out. He and Trotter are sore today. Same thing with Phil Mafah. We'll have everyone ready for Louisville, hopefully. There are a couple of guys who may be day-to-day."

Swinney said he was pleased with play of right tackle Walker Parks against Florida St. standout Jermaine Johnson.

"He did a nice job and played well. He got his job done. There was one play and it shouldn't have been a sack. The ball should have been gone,” Swinney said. “The reason DJ held the ball. He was going to throw it on time. Our tight end cut inside and should have been outside. That caused DJ to hold up and recoil. Because he gave up the pressure, it became a sack, fumble and touchdown. Honestly, that was a bad series, first of all. We ran for nine yards and it's second and one. We miss a block and don't get it. Then it's third and one and we jump off-sides. It's third and six and we give up a scoop and score. So that was a really bad series."

He was also pleased with how freshman left guard Marcus Tate played.

"There's a reason why he started the first game. That's why the NFL and all these people have preseason games. That's why a lot of people don't schedule crazy-hard games out of the gate. You just can't simulate game day,” he said. “It's just different. You're not going against the same people all the time. There are no fans or a scoreboard out there. He struggled early and was overwhelmed. He needed to take a step back. He's going to be a great player. He's still - every single rep he gets - learning. He is much, much, much better than he was at the beginning of the season. He's making progress in a lot of areas. He's going to be a special player, for sure. That's not an easy position. I'm proud of the progress he has made."

Tight end Jake Briningstool has stepped up in the absence of Braden Galloway.

“He has come a long way, especially physically. He is really physical, naturally physical,” Swinney said. “It comes natural to him. He'll flat put his body on people. I'm excited about what he's putting on tape. That reception was a big play for us. He's going to be a great one. He has all the tools, toughness, he runs like a receiver, athleticism and just continues to get stronger. Same thing for Sage Ennis. Both are headed in the right direction."

He also likes what he’s seen out of the run defense.

“We've run the line of scrimmage, first and foremost. Syracuse ran well on us in that first half but in the second half we tightened some things up,” Swinney said. “Guys are fitting gaps, guys playing over the top, guys taking care of their assignments. We've had some different packages, too. We've had a good plan. It's never about scheme. It's about players executing scheme. You have to give credit to the guys up front. They were disruptive, especially in that second half yesterday. Florida State could never get comfortable in that second half."