During his weekly radio show Monday night, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney spent some time discussing the Tigers’ early season losses and how he sees his program being perceived, saying “maybe we need to lose a few games and lighten up the bandwagon.”

Clemson (4-2, 2-2 ACC) began the 2023 season ranked No. 9 in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll before suffering September losses to Duke and Florida State. The Tigers have fallen out of both polls and remain outside the top 25 heading into Saturday’s matchup at Miami.

“We’re at a point in our time, and I hate that, where people, if you don’t go undefeated, (say) ‘you’re losers, you’re terrible.’ And it’s just such a terrible mindset,” Swinney said. “And honestly, maybe we need to lose a few games and lighten up the bandwagon. Sometimes the bandwagon can get a little too full.”

Swinney added that times like these are when “you really find out who’s with you and who’s not,” and he says his program isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“That’s the one good thing about going through a little bit of so-called adversity is you really find out who’s with you and who’s not,” he said. “But as far as our program, hey, we may win every one of these games out. We could lose every one of them. We’re a really good team that could beat anybody and we’re a team that could lose to anybody. But our program is built to last. We’re going to be around for a long time.”

Prior to missing the College Football Playoff each of the last two seasons, Clemson earned six consecutive playoff berths from 2015-20, with Swinney’s program appearing in four national championship games and winning a pair of national titles in 2016 and 2018.

Swinney believes “the foundational pieces to the next championship at Clemson are on this (year’s) team.”

“I don’t have any doubt about that,” he said. “I’ve been here long enough and done it long enough. I’ve got a good feel for what you have to have. But it’s not easy to win. It’s really, really hard to win, and sometimes you can win so much you lose appreciation for it. So, I appreciate some of the longtime Clemson people that have good perspective. Because these kids, they’re in a situation where there’s a lot of noise all the time, and I hate that. But that’s the world we live in and it comes with the territory.”

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