Is Clemson slipping? Dabo Swinney addresses critics after Orange Bowl loss to Tennessee
The futility seemed endless for the Clemson Tigers, until it finally ended — the game, the frustration, the season.
No. 6 Tennessee, led by quarterback Joe Milton III, defeated No. 7 Clemson 31-14 Friday in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium.
The loss left the Atlantic Coast Conference Tigers (11-3) with their second consecutive three-loss season after six straight years of reaching the College Football Playoff, two of those — 2016 and 2018 — culminating in national championships.
The Southeastern Conference’s Tennessee finished 11-2.
“Incredibly disappointing,’’ Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Name of the game is missed opportunities. Simple as that. The No. 1 scoring offense in the country at some point is going to hit an explosive [play] or two. You have to capitalize.’’
Added Swinney: “It’s always sad when it comes to an end.’’
The Tigers ran an Orange Bowl-record 101 plays, breaking their own 2015 record of 90. True freshman quarterback Klubnik, making his first career start, went 30-of-54 for 320 yards, with two interceptions. He rushed 20 times for 78 yards, losing 27 yards for a net 51 and the touchdown. Klubnik was sacked four times.
“So proud of these guys right here,’’ Klubnik said. “We gave it all we had to the very last play. There are a lot of plays I want back but super proud of how these guys competed.”
Added Klubnik: “You get points by scoring touchdowns. We needed to score touchdowns. There were just a lot of missed opportunities. ...Just needed to finish.”
The Tigers entered inside Tennessee’s 35-yard line 10 times Friday, and scored only one touchdown on the ninth trip. Klubnik ran straight into the end zone to make it 21-12, and finally 21-14 after a two-point conversion with 10:01 left.
But Tennessee came back to score less than a minute-and-a-half later on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Milton to Romael Keyton, and the Volunteers were up 28-14.
Before that, the Tigers scored only six points on B.T. Potter’s 31 and 40-yard field goals in the second and third quarters — and those after missing a 55-yard attempt wide right in the first quarter, a 49-yard attempt wide right in the second quarter and a 42-yard attempt wide left in the second quarter.
“I think I let it get to me a little bit,’’ Potter said. “And that’s just something that can’t happen at this level. Every point matters, every kick matters.’’
And that doesn’t include a fake field goal on fourth-and-4 from the Tennessee 44, when the Tigers could only get 2 yards and relinquished the ball.
Swinney was asked to address critics who say the Clemson program is slipping.
“I don’t know what to say to them,’’ the coach said. “We’re 11-3. I wish we were undefeated. but we won the league seven out of the last eight years. That’s happened one other time and that was in the ‘70s by Alabama, so we’ve been pretty consistent and we’ll continue to be consistent and keep trying to be undefeated.
“Disappointing tonight for sure,’’ Swinney concluded, “but nobody out there has higher expectations than we have, I promise you that. We’ll keep battling, working. A lot of great days ahead.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2022 at 1:36 AM.
