NEW ORLEANS -- Dabo Swinney walked into a dejected Clemson locker room long after he finished his media responsibilities, his players still trying to process what had happened on the field just moments earlier.
He walked around the room and approached each player he saw. Some had tear-stained cheeks, others had blank expressions. Swinney gave them hugs, words of encouragement, pats on the back, and a vow they would be back.
"It's always about what is next," Swinney told reporters during his postgame comments. "And we're going to learn and grow and always get better. And my expectation is to be right back here next year, right back in the middle of it, right back in the thick of it.