It is not often Dabo Swinney calls out a member of the media. He usually doesn’t worry about what we might say or write. But CBS College Football analyst Aaron Taylor struck a nerve when he said the Tigers would not be ready for Saturday’s top 15 showdown with Notre Dame.

“The comment was Clemson would not be ready, and the word was our crowd was going to be lugubrious when the game is over,” Swinney said. “I don’t know how to spell that.”

So Swinney looked up the word.

“Lugubrious means to be sad and disappointed,” Swinney said. “So I want to wish Notre Dame and their lugubrious crowd safe travels back to South Bend, and we will show up in 2020 and we look forward to that trip.

“I appreciate the education that we got his week and the vocabulary lesson. Our players, the first thing they said when I came into the locker room, they told me, ‘Man, that leprechaun looked a little lugubrious looking.”

Taylor wasn’t the only member of the media that did not give the Tigers’ a chance. Most of the national media did not think Clemson could hang with the Irish’s physical offensive line or move the ball against their defense.

Swinney had no problem reminding them the Tigers found a way to do both in their, 24-22, victory.

“That was a mutter and we found a way to win it,” he said.

The Tigers’ head coach also reminded them that Clemson is one of only five programs to have a winning record against Notre Dame with a minimum three games played. He also mentioned these facts.

“In the last 38 years, if you did it based on the media and you did a poll on who has had the most wins between Notre Dame and Clemson the last 38 years, everybody would say Notre Dame. They would be wrong. It is Clemson,” Swinney said. “Clemson has had more wins, more bowl wins, more top 25 finishes, more 10 wins season, so my message to the team is just be Clemson. Just be who you are. Don’t buy the lie.”

In the last 38 years, Clemson has posted a 310-144-6 record (.680). The Tigers have won one national championships, posted ten 10-win seasons, have participated in 30 bowl games, won 15 bowl games, has finished inside the top 10 nine times, has finished inside the top 25 21 times and has posted 32 winning seasons.

During that same time, Notre Dame has a 302-154-3 record (.661). The Irish has won two national championships, posted eight 10-win seasons, has participated in 27 bowl games, won 12 bowl games, has finished inside the top 10 ten times, has finished inside the top 25 19 times and has posted 29 winning seasons.

I guess Swinney knew what he was talking about. The facts don’t lie. And the Tigers now know what lugubrious means.