With a few days having passed since Clemson lost a 10-3 slugfest to Georgia to open its season, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has had nearly 72 hours to evaluate the totality of the Tigers’ performance.
Swinney’s general summation? The effort, particularly against a top-5 team, was undeniable. The execution, however, lacked at critical times, which, in a competitive tilt that could go either way like Saturday’s did, “one play ended up being the difference,” Swinney said.
That play was Christopher Smith’s 74-yard pick-six of D.J. Uiagelelei late in the second quarter, one of many breakdowns on the offensive side of the ball that may be burned in Swinney’s mind for a while.