Clemson ‘never been better,’ confident Dabo says

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2 years ago

March 31, 2023

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Mar 27, 2023

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson has not made it to the College Football Playoff the last two seasons, prompting some outside the program to question where the Tigers are headed.

But coach Dabo Swinney remains adamant that his program has never been better, and will be one of the teams competing for a spot in the playoff this season, he told ESPN during a wide-ranging interview in his office Monday.

“People, they need stories and it’s a story if Clemson went to six playoffs in a row and then didn’t make it. What’s wrong with them?” Swinney said. “There’s nothing wrong with Clemson. There’s nothing wrong with our program. In fact, I would argue, honestly, our program has never been better.”

When asked why he feels that way, Swinney said, “Our people, the kids on this roster, the talent, our coaches, our support staff, our administration, our infrastructure, our connectivity. I’m better now than I’ve ever been as a head coach. It’s not even close, where I am now to where I was in ’13, when we won our first BCS game. Never been better.”

Swinney, entering his 16th year as Clemson’s coach, made perhaps the splashiest move of the college football offseason when he decided to hire TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley to get his offense back on track. Clemson has not played up to its own standards on offense, starting in 2021, when DJ Uiagalelei struggled as the starter.

After offensive coordinator Tony Elliott left to become Virginia coach, Swinney promoted quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter to offensive coordinator.

Though Clemson improved — gaining 40 more yards per game than the previous year — the Tigers were still not close to the standard they had come to expect and ranked No. 47 in the country in total offense. Uiagalelei struggled at times, and then freshman Cade Klubnik took over for the ACC championship game and Orange Bowl.

But it was that Orange Bowl performance in which Clemson ran over 100 plays but scored only 14 points in a loss to Tennessee that had Swinney re-evaluate what to do about the offense. He called USC coach Lincoln Riley to go over a list of candidates and asked about his brother, Garrett, who had helped transform the TCU offense and quarterback Max Duggan into a Heisman Trophy finalist.

“I told Lincoln, ‘I’m not honestly I’m really not sure I’m going to make a change,'” Swinney said. “But I just want to do the due diligence. Honestly, I probably would have stayed the course if it wasn’t for Garrett.”

Swinney spoke to Garrett the day after TCU lost the national championship game to Georgia. Within days, he was hired at Clemson, a somewhat surprising move considering Swinney had just promoted Streeter only one year earlier and talked about his loyalty to his assistant coaches in providing them opportunities for growth and job promotion.

“We got better, but still not to what I think we need to be, what we’ve been for a long time,” Swinney said. “There’s a lot of reasons for that. Brandon Streeter is an unbelievable coach, but I needed the position. Sometimes you need a different voice.

“I wouldn’t change anything. Last year when I hired Brandon, he deserved it, and he earned it. So no regrets on that. If it goes a couple plays here or there, we probably don’t have a change. That’s the reality of our world.”

That reality, of course, also means questions when a team that has made an unbelievable playoff run with excellence at quarterback no longer looks the part. Swinney described his decision to make this change as “the right time for the right guy.”

With Uiagalelei transferring and Klubnik now taking over at quarterback, the timing fit. So far in the early part of spring football, Swinney has been pleased with what he has seen from Riley.

“With Garrett, he was the voice, the energy and the confidence that we needed in the room,” Swinney said. “It’s been really, really good reset, I think for everybody.”

Some could argue this is a similar situation to 2011, when Swinney hired Chad Morris to help move the offense forward. That hire helped usher in the era of Clemson football many have come to recognize — with six straight playoff appearances and a standard that has now reset expectations about what it means to have a successful program.

Clemson won 10 games in 2021; then last season the Tigers won 11 games and the ACC championship. But still, there were plenty of naysayers outside the program who watched as the offense struggled to find its familiar footing.

“We weren’t good enough in 21 to go to the Final Four, and there’s no crime in that,” Swinney said. “Then we come back this year and win our league for the eighth time in 11 years. The more success you have, the more you have to really work to keep perspective, because people lose their minds. It’s not that you’re ducking a question or hiding. Sometimes you’re just not good enough.”

Swinney pointed out they were a couple of plays away from being a playoff team last year, after losing a fourth-quarter lead in a loss to South Carolina. He believes this year’s team, with veterans returning across the board — including Klubnik, running back Will Shipley, linebackers Barrett Carter and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and a stacked defensive line — will be in the mix for a playoff spot once again.

“This is a team that will have a chance, and that’s all you can ask for,” Swinney said. “If you’ve got a chance and you have the right work ethic and the right spirit to you, then you can live with the result that comes with it. I don’t judge our teams by championships. I’ve never done that. That’s a miserable way to go about your life. For me, it’s more about who are they? What’s the commitment? What’s the chemistry? What’s our leadership? I loved last year’s team. We won the league. We got better, but we didn’t quite get where we wanted to go. We’ve worked hard, and I do think this team this year will have shot.”

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Buckeyes open as big favorites vs. Fighting Irish

Published

10 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Buckeyes open as big favorites vs. Fighting Irish

Doug Greenberg, ESPNJan 11, 2025, 12:09 AM ET

Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, per ESPN BET odds.

If that line holds, it would be tied for the second-largest spread in a CFP national championship game and the fourth largest in the CFP/BCS era. Georgia was -13.5 against TCU in the 2022 national championship, while Alabama showed -9.5 against none other than Ohio State to decide the 2020 campaign. Both favorites covered the spread in blowout fashion, combining for a cover margin of 63.

Notre Dame is 12-3 against the spread this season, tied with Arizona State (12-2) and Marshall (12-1) for the most covers in the nation. The Irish are 7-0 ATS against ranked teams and 2-0 ATS as underdogs, with both covers going down as outright victories, including their win over Penn State (-1.5) in the CFP national semifinal.

However, Notre Dame was also on the losing end of the largest outright upset of the college football season when it fell as a 28.5-point favorite to Northern Illinois.

Ohio State is 9-6 against the spread and has been a favorite in every game it has played this season; it has covered the favorite spread in every CFP game thus far, including in its semifinal win against Texas when it covered -6 with overwhelming public support.

The Buckeyes also have been an extremely popular pick in the futures market all season. At BetMGM as of Friday morning, OSU had garnered a leading 28.2% of money and 16.8% of bets to win the national title, checking in as the sportsbook’s greatest liability.

Ohio State opened at +700 to win it all this season and is now -350 with just one game to play.

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Sawyer’s scoop-and-score leads OSU to CFP final

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10 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Sawyer's scoop-and-score leads OSU to CFP final

ESPN News Services

Jan 10, 2025, 11:22 PM ET

ARLINGTON, Texas — Quinshon Judkins ran for two touchdowns before Jack Sawyer forced a fumble by his former roommate that he returned 83 yards for a clinching TD as Ohio State beat Texas 28-14 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday night to advance to a shot for their sixth national title.

Led by Judkins and Sawyer, the Buckeyes (13-2) posted the semifinal victory in the same stadium where 10 years ago they were champions in the debut of the College Football Playoff as a four-team format. Now they have the opportunity to be the winner again in the debut of the expanded 12-team field.

Ohio State plays Orange Bowl champion Notre Dame in Atlanta on Jan. 20. It could be quite a finish for the Buckeyes after they lost to rival Michigan on Nov. 30. Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over the Irish, per ESPN BET.

“About a month ago, a lot of people counted us out. And these guys went to work, this team, these leaders, the captains, the staff,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “Everybody in the building believed. And because of that, I believe we won the game in the fourth quarter.”

Sawyer got to Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers on a fourth-and-goal from the 8, knocking the ball loose and scooping it up before lumbering all the way to the other end. It was the longest fumble return in CFP history.

Ewers and Sawyer were roommates in Columbus, Ohio, for the one semester the quarterback was there before transferring home to Texas and helping lead the Longhorns (13-3) to consecutive CFP semifinals. But next season will be their 20th since winning their last national title with Vince Young in 2005.

Texas had gotten to the 1, helped by two pass-interference penalties in the end zone before Quintrevion Wisner was stopped for a 7-yard loss.

Judkins had a 1-yard touchdown for a 21-14 lead with 7:02 left. That score came four plays after quarterback Will Howard converted fourth-and-2 from the Texas 34 with a stumbling 18-yard run that was almost a score.

Howard was 24-of-33 passing for 289 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Ewers finished 23-of-39 for 283 yards with two TD passes to Jaydon Blue and an interception after getting the ball back one final time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Colorado coaching great McCartney dies at 84

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10 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Colorado coaching great McCartney dies at 84

ESPN News Services

Jan 11, 2025, 12:10 AM ET

Bill McCartney, a three-time coach of the year in the Big Eight Conference who led the Colorado Buffaloes to their only national football title in 1990, has died. He was 84.

McCartney died Friday night “after a courageous journey with dementia,” according to a family statement.

“Coach Mac touched countless lives with his unwavering faith, boundless compassion, and enduring legacy as a leader, mentor and advocate for family, community and faith,” the family said in its statement. “As a trailblazer and visionary, his impact was felt both on and off the field, and his spirit will forever remain in the hearts of those he inspired.”

After playing college ball under Dan Devine at Missouri, McCartney started coaching high school football and basketball in Detroit. He then was hired onto the staff at Michigan, the only assistant ever plucked from the high school ranks by Bo Schembechler.

Schembechler chose wisely. As the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator during the 1980 season, McCartney earned Big Ten “Player” of the Week honors for the defensive scheme he devised to stop star Purdue quarterback Mark Herrmann.

“When I was 7 years old, I knew I was going to be a coach,” McCartney told The Gazette in 2013. “My friends, other kids at that age were going to be president, businessmen, attorneys, firemen. Ever since I was a little kid, I imitated my coaches, critiqued them, always followed and studied them.”

In 1982, McCartney took over a Colorado program that was coming off three straight losing seasons with a combined record of 7-26. After three more struggling seasons, McCartney turned things around to go to bowl games in nine out of 10 seasons starting in 1985, when he switched over to a wishbone offense.

His 1989 team was 11-0 when it headed to the Orange Bowl, where Notre Dame dashed Colorado’s hopes of a perfect season. McCartney and the Buffaloes, however, would get their revenge the following season.

After getting off to an uninspiring 1-1-1 start in 1990, Colorado won its next nine games to earn a No. 1 ranking and a rematch with the Fighting Irish. This time the Buffaloes prevailed, 10-9, and grabbed a share of the national title atop the AP poll (Georgia Tech was tops in the coaches’ poll).

McCartney won numerous coach of the year honors in 1989, and he was also Big Eight Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1990. His teams went a combined 58-11-4 in his last six seasons before retiring (1989-94).

The Buffaloes finished in the AP Top 20 in each of those seasons, including No. 3 in McCartney’s final year, when the team went 11-1 behind a roster that included Kordell Stewart, Michael Westbrook and the late Rashaan Salaam. That season featured the “Miracle in Michigan,” with Westbrook hauling in a 64-yard TD catch from Stewart on a Hail Mary as time expired in a win at Michigan. Salaam also rushed for 2,055 yards to earn the Heisman Trophy.

McCartney also groomed the next wave of coaches, mentoring assistants such as Gary Barnett, Jim Caldwell, Ron Dickerson, Gerry DiNardo, Karl Dorrell, Jon Embree, Les Miles, Rick Neuheisel, Bob Simmons, Lou Tepper, Ron Vanderlinden and John Wristen.

“I was fortunate to be able to say goodbye to Coach in person last week,” Colorado athletic director Rick George, who worked under McCartney and was a longtime friend of his, said in a statement. “Coach Mac was an incredible man who taught me about the importance of faith, family and being a good husband, father and grandfather. He instilled discipline and accountability to all of us who worked and played under his leadership.

“The mark that he left on CU football and our athletic department will be hard to replicate.”

McCartney remains the winningest coach in Colorado history. He retired at age 54 with an overall record of 93-55-5 (.602) in 13 seasons, all with Colorado.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. His family announced in 2016 that McCartney had been diagnosed with late-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s.

“Here’s what football does: It teaches a boy to be a man,” McCartney told USA Today in 2017. “You say, ‘How does it do that?’ Well, what if you line up across from a guy who’s bigger, stronger, faster and tougher than you are? What do you do? Do you stay and play? Or do you turn and run? That’s what football does. You’re always going to come up against somebody who’s better than you are.

“That’s what life is. Life is getting knocked down and getting back up and getting back in the game.”

In recent years, McCartney got to watch grandson Derek play defensive line at Colorado. Derek’s father, Shannon Clavelle, was a defensive lineman for Colorado from 1992-94 before playing a few seasons in the NFL. Derek’s brother, T.C. McCartney, was a quarterback at LSU and is the son of late Colorado quarterback Sal Aunese, who played for Bill McCartney in 1987 and ’88 before being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1989 and dying six months later at 21.

Growing up, Derek McCartney used to go next door to his grandfather’s house to listen to his stories. He never tired of them.

When playing for Colorado, hardly a day would go by when someone wouldn’t ask Derek if he was somehow related to the coach.

“I like when that happens,” Derek said.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.