What Dabo Swinney had to say about Clemson after win at South Carolina

The Palmetto State belongs to the Clemson Tigers again.

Clemson closed the regular season by defeating rival South Carolina, 28-14, Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. The Tigers have now won nine of the last 11 head-to-head meetings against the Gamecocks dating back to 2014, including six straight wins in Columbia.

The Tigers, who finished the regular season at 7-5 after winning their final four games, forced four South Carolina turnovers and knocked down 12 passes in the victory. Clemson had a commanding 38:44 to 21:16 advantage in time of possession. On third downs, the Tigers converted 7-of-17 while holding South Carolina to just 1-of-11.

Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 24 of his 39 passes for 268 yards. He ran seven times for 12 yards, but one was a three-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

After a scoreless first quarter, Clemson and South Carolina combined for 31 points in the second stanza as the Tigers took a 17-14 lead into halftime. The defense smothered the Gamecocks in the final 30 minutes, forcing two punts, a turnover on downs, a fumble, and getting two interceptions by cornerback Ricardo Jones.

Jones' 12-yard interception return for a touchdown with 3:20 to play gave Clemson a two-touchdown lead after Klubnik found Adam Randall for a two-point conversion.

Sellers threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns, but his two interceptions and two fumbles were part of a four-turnover day.

After the game, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney met with reporters to discuss his team's win over South Carolina. Here's what the Tigers' coach had to say.

Dabo Swinney reflects on Clemson football win over rival South Carolina

"That was Clemson football. That was fun. Really happy for our fans. We all know how much this one means and I'm really happy for our team, especially our seniors to be able to say they are undefeated down here. So, I'm just happy for those guys. They've had great preparation. That's four road wins in a row. That's four overall wins in a row. That's six in a row down here, which this is not an easy place to come play. And it's our seventh win.

"But it was a lot of fun. I love just the effort of our guys, the belief of our guys. Now, we've put ourselves in a position to get to the postseason and maybe try to get an eighth win. That's not what we set out to do, but there's only two other teams that have had eight wins 15 years in a row, and that's Alabama and Georgia."

Dabo Swinney says 2025 Tigers are 'greatest turnaround team' in Clemson football history

After praising his team for winning four straight games, Swinney said:

"That's quite a turnaround. In fact, this is the greatest turnaround team in Clemson history. There's 30 teams that started 1-3 or worse. We were only the fourth to get to six (wins). Nobody got to seven. That wasn't what we set out for our story to be, but that's our story. And that's what life's all about. When good things happen to you, how do you respond? When bad things happen to you, how do you respond?

"You saw a group of young people that have responded to a lot of adversity, a lot of disappointment, a lot of negativity, a lot of that stuff. They've stayed together and continued to believe. Again, this is a good football team (South Carolina). They should have beat Alabama. They should have won that game, and they're two or three plays away from winning a couple more games. One of them years that just didn't quite go their way, but that's a really dangerous football team that we just beat.

"I've got a ton of respect for Shane (Beamer) and how he does things here. My heart hurts for him and Emily and his family because I know what it's like to be on the other side of it. This is a tough, tough game to come out on the short side of it. I'm proud of guys."

Dabo Swinney takes dig at reporters over South Carolina rivalry

Clemson defeated South Carolina for the ninth time in the series' last 11 head-to-head meetings. South Carolina's two wins in that span have both been in the last four years, though.

Swinney had a harmless jab at reporters afterwards about the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry when he quipped:

"I know everybody likes to give me math lessons around here. That's nine out of 11. Y'all was all ready for the three out of four. Y'all couldn't wait. Y'all already had them articles written, so let me just help. That's nine out of 11, and that's six in a row down here."

"So I'm really proud of our guys," Swinney continued. "Just their heart, their belief in what they set out to do when we kind of reset our goals on the season for where we were. They've accomplished those things."

Watch Swinney's full postgame press conference below.

Clemson football schedule 2025

• Aug. 30: vs. LSU (L, 17-10)

• Sept. 6: vs. Troy (W, 27-16)

• Sept. 13: at Georgia Tech (L, 24-21)

• Sept. 20: vs. Syracuse (L, 34-21)

• Oct. 4: at North Carolina (W, 38-10)

• Oct. 11: at Boston College (W, 41-10)

• Oct. 18: vs. SMU, (L, 35-24)

• Nov. 1: vs. Duke (L, 46-45)

• Nov. 8: vs. Florida State (W, 24-10)

• Nov. 14: at Louisville (W, 20-19)

• Nov. 22: vs. Furman (W, 45-10)

• Nov. 29: at South Carolina (W, 28-21)

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney speaks out after win over USC