CLEMSON — With Clemson falling at home against LSU in its season-opener on Saturday, Dabo Swinney’s team has now lost four straight against teams from the SEC.
The Tigers are also 3-8 in their last 11 games against SEC competition. However, despite the current skid, Swinney still owns a 21-17 career record against the SEC, while also holding a 3-1 career mark against both the Big 12 and the Big 10.
After the fourth-ranked Tigers lost 17-10 to the ninth-ranked LSU on Saturday, Swinney was asked about the recent struggles against the SEC. He quickly reminded everyone about his 27-19 mark in out-of-conference games against the other Power-4 leagues.
“What’s our record overall against the Big 10, Big 12 and the SEC?” the head coach quipped. “How many teams have a winning record? You can pick and choose any stat you want to fit your narrative. How about what we have done in totality? Do those not count?”
While Swinney acknowledged the recent skid, he also made sure to remind everyone how successful Clemson has been in out-of-conference games during his tenure as head coach.
“Whatever fits your narrative, that’s there,” he added. “But there are probably not many teams outside of those conferences that have a winning record versus all three leagues. And we do.”
Clemson has been known to schedule strong out-of-conference games since Swinney took over full-time after the 2008 season. The Tigers played home-and-home series with Georgia, Texas A&M and Auburn since he took over, on top of facing off with in-state rival South Carolina every season. There have also been neutral-site games against Auburn and Georgia.
Saturday’s game marked the first of a home-and-home set with LSU that is scheduled to conclude next season in Baton Rouge. After that, there is another home-and-home with Georgia on the books, and one also scheduled against Oklahoma. The Tigers are also set to begin a 12-year series against Notre Dame in 2027.
“We play good teams and we battled our tail off,” Swinney said. “We got to find a way to get over that hump, and we will.”
Photo by Bart Boatwright
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