Dabo Swinney feels good about what Clemson accomplished in the spring, and as the Tigers continue to get ready for the 2023 season, Swinney believes his team is on the verge of returning to the College Football Playoff this year.
Last season, Clemson (11-3, 9-0 ACC in 2022) became only the third FBS program ever to post 12 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins. The Tigers also won their seventh ACC Championship in eight years, becoming the first program in an active Power Five conference to win seven outright conference titles in an eight-year span since Alabama won eight SEC titles in nine seasons from 1971-79.
Now, heading into the upcoming campaign, Clemson is looking to make it back to the College Football Playoff for the first time since the 2020 season. And returning to the playoff is something Swinney sees being well within reach, with a hungry roster full of young talent as well as plenty of key veteran returning players.
Clemson’s head coach spoke about that at the Greenville Prowl & Growl this week and how he senses “a genuine enthusiasm” on the roster with players who are happy to be a part of the program.
“Guys choose Clemson because this is the program they want to be a part of,” Swinney said. “And at the end of the day, it comes down to what you do on Saturday. If you win, everybody’s happy. If you don’t, none of the rest of it matters. So, as we said, we start over. I think we’ve had a really good spring. The leadership of your team is different every year. The chemistry of your team has to be kind of redone every year. You have to reinstall the program every year just like an offense, a defense.”
“I think there’s a genuine enthusiasm amongst everyone on the roster, just because they have an opportunity to be at Clemson,” Swinney added. “They all chose to come here, and it’s exciting. We had a really good recruiting class last year that’s almost intact. We’ve got a few that will come here in another couple weeks, they’ll get on campus. So, coming off an ACC Championship, and really, really close to getting back to the playoff. I think the guys are eager. We’ve got a lot of guys back, a lot of good veteran guys that could’ve left that came back because they really want to make a run at this thing. So, you feel that with all the guys.”
Clemson opens the 2023 season against Duke on Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 4) at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. The game is set to kick off at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Xavier Thomas is back to win another championship. Dear Old Clemson has added signed posters from Thomas to our online store. For this weekend only they are on sale at an introductory price of only $30.
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