Dabo Swinney cannot undo the ass-kicking Clemson received from LSU, but he can start repairing the damage this weekend against Georgia Southern.
And simply winning the game isn’t enough.
Clemson needs to come out pissed off, prepared and ready to dominate somebody. I need to see an offensive line that can move people, a running game that establishes control and an offense that doesn’t look like it is operating in quicksand. After producing only 145 yards and converting one damn third down against LSU, Clemson cannot afford another slow, predictable performance.
Dabo also needs to open up the quarterback competition. Christopher Vizzina shouldn’t keep the job just because he has been in the program and waited his turn. If Tait Reynolds is the more talented quarterback—and I believe he is—then put his ass on the field and let him play. Dabo’s loyalty to upperclassmen nearly cost him with Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, and he appears to be making the same mistake again.
This weekend is also an opportunity for Dabo to prove he still has control of that locker room. Clemson should play with urgency from the opening kickoff. I don’t want to see them sleepwalk through the first half, beat Georgia Southern by a few touchdowns and then tell us how proud everybody is of the response.
I want to see Clemson dominate at the line of scrimmage, eliminate the dumb mistakes, play its young talent and keep its foot on the gas.
Georgia Southern isn’t going to restore Clemson’s reputation. But if Clemson struggles with them after getting embarrassed 51–10 by LSU, Dabo’s seat is going to get a hell of a lot hotter.
This weekend isn’t about putting another win on the schedule. It is about showing us whether Dabo Swinney understands just how far Clemson has fallen—and whether he is finally willing to make the changes necessary to fix it.
