CLEMSON — Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was very somber following Saturday’s 20-16 loss to Virginia Tech at Memorial Stadium.

He was also very honest and open on why the Tigers lost another big game in Death Valley.

“I just don’t think we helped (the players) enough to win the game,” he said.

Swinney put all the blame on himself and his coaching staff for the four-point loss, his first to the Hokies in eight games in his career.

“I just don’t think we helped them enough to win the game with some decisions and play calls. We did not help them enough. Those kids played their butts off,” he said.

Clemson (4-3, 2-2 ACC) outplayed the Hokies for the majority of the game, and the statistics dictate such.

The Tigers held VT to 234 total yards – nearly 200 yards below their season average. They held them to 70 rushing yards – more than 80 yards below their season average. They held them to 164 passing yards – almost 140 yards below their season average. And finally, they held them to 20 total points – 17 points below their season average.

But Swinney and the Tigers are not looking for moral victories, which is why he was so down following the loss.

He puts the loss on himself and mostly the offensive coaches because they did not do the things they needed to do to help their players succeed, especially at quarterback.

“Yeah, we made some mistakes, but we did not help them enough to win it,” Swinney said. “I have done this long enough, and this is really disappointing.”

Clemson finished the game with 288 total yards and was 3-for-14 on third down.

Swinney admitted he went to offensive coordinator Chad Morris at halftime and told him they needed to take some of the reads away from quarterback Tait Reynolds. He credits that adjustment as to why the freshman played much better in the second half.

Reynolds led the Tigers on three consecutive scoring positions to start the third quarter.

Clemson tallied 146 yards in the quarter and led 13-10 thanks to two Nolan Hauser field goals and a 16-yard Reynolds touchdown.

“We kind of went away with some of the read stuff and went to some of the direct run stuff and we got it going,” Swinney said.

Reynolds finished the game completing 20 of 26 passes for 153 yards, while running 18 times for 63 yards and a score.

“We took a little bit off the quarterback and he had some direct runs,” Swinney. “We got into a good rhythm.”

Unfortunately, for the Tigers, they could not keep it going. Their last three possessions ended in two punts and then a turner over on downs.

“I thought our team played their tails off and competed and deserved a lot better,” Swinney said. “The story of the game was missed opportunities on offense, critical missed opportunities on offense.”