As he was walking off the field following last year’s loss to Alabama in the national championship game, Dabo Swinney remembers the feeling of disappointment more than anything else.

His Clemson team had played their hearts out. They had put themselves in position to win it all, but in the end Alabama and Nick Saban made one more play than the Tigers.

“I was very disappointed, obviously,” Swinney said on Wednesday as Clemson held media day at the WestZone to preview the Tigers’ national championship game against Alabama on Monday night in Tampa, Florida. “I knew we were good enough, and I knew we were in position to win and we did not get it done. But at the same time, I was very thankful for the effort.

“I think, to me, that is how I always want my players to be defined. It’s about how we play. I don’t ever want to be defined by the scoreboard. Sometimes you can play great and lose. Sometimes you play really bad and win.”

In last year’s title game, the Tigers played kind of both. There were some busted plays, especially on a couple of O.J. Howard’s long receptions where he was running wide open in the secondary. And of course they played well at times, too.

Deshaun Watson threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns, while running for another 73 yards. The offense overall had 540 yards and scored 40 points. The defense had five sacks and 11 tackles for loss and held Bama to 139 yards rushing.

Then there was a play when quarterback Jake Coker threw a deep pass down the sideline on third down and long and wide receiver Ardarius Stewart went up and made a great catch in tight coverage.

“Sometimes their guys might be better than your guy in certain situations or in that moment and you just tip your hat to him,” Swinney said. “I was very, very disappointed because we were in position and I knew we were good enough.

“But I was also very proud of the effort, the heart, how they played and how they competed all the way to the last second of the clock.”

And that’s why Swinney said he can look in the mirror, knowing they did the best that they could, and can live with the results.

“If you look in the mirror knowing you did the very best you could do, and you laid it on the line, then you can live with whatever result comes,” he said.

However, this time Swinney will much rather be lifting that National Championship Trophy while he is living with that result.

–Photo Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports