During his Sunday evening media teleconference following Clemson’s 20-16 loss to Virginia Tech last Saturday, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney said that this specific defeat stings more than some others he’s experienced.

Swinney accepted personal responsibility for the Tigers’ loss to the Hokies, saying that the loss “will leave a scar” because he felt the team was in a clear position to win but failed to finish the job.

Swinney explained that while he has lost plenty of games in his 18-plus-year head coaching career, Saturday’s defeat cut deeper.

“Obviously really disappointed with the outcome of the game,” Swinney said. “It was a game that we had plenty of opportunity to win it and we did not. I’ve been in a lot of games over the last 18 years, a bunch of good ones but also some tough losses along the way, too. But some of those losses leave a scar.

“This one will leave a scar. Because I feel like we were in a position to win the game and we didn’t get that done, and that’s my responsibility. So, just really a frustrating loss. They all are, but this one was one that was really right there with a lot of opportunity to win it.”

Swinney praised Clemson’s defense, which limited Virginia Tech to just 234 total yards, including just 70 rushing yards. Swinney once again acknowledged that the Tigers did not do enough on the offensive side of the ball to help them close out the game.

Clemson fell to 4-3 overall (2-2 ACC) after more offensive struggles that saw the Tigers score just one touchdown, manage only 288 total yards and go 3-for-14 on third down. After scoring only three points in the first half, the Tigers put together three straight scoring drives in the third quarter, but only one of those resulted in a touchdown.

As well as Clemson’s defense played throughout the game, the Tigers were unable to prevent the Hokies from producing two scoring drives in the fourth quarter, including the winning drive that saw VT march 69 yards on 11 plays – capped by a go-ahead 5-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-1 with 1:44 left.

Clemson was hit with multiple penalties on that go-ahead drive, including a late hit out of bounds and two pass interference penalties.

“Our kids played really hard, played tough, played physical, but we had some mistakes in some critical situations,” Swinney said. “Our defense and special teams did enough to win the game, but there were still [some issues.] We had two drives in the fourth quarter, and if we get a stop on one of them, we got a chance to win the game, and we didn’t get it done. But they played really tough and physical.

“If you had told me going into the game we were going to hold them to what we did, I would have signed up for that, but just didn’t get it done on the offensive side to complement them.”

Swinney’s team now looks to put the tough loss in the rearview mirror and get back in the win column when Clemson faces Florida State (3-4, 1-3 ACC) this Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. (7 p.m., ACC Network).

“We’ll reset, grow from it, dust off and see if we can go find a way to win this week,” Swinney said. “It doesn’t get any easier, going on the road. It’s a really dangerous Florida State team. I think they’re really talented. They’ve scored a bunch of points on everybody they’ve played. … This is a really dangerous team that’s coming off an open date. It will be a big challenge for us this week in Tallahassee.”