Clemson Tigers HC Dabo Swinney Says the Biggest Offensive Struggles Have Been 'Routine Stuff'

On Tuesday, the media heard from Clemson Tigers' head coach Dabo Swinney in person for the first time since the Troy win last weekend.

Entering the 2025 season, Clemson’s offense was, and still is for some, projected to be one of the most elite in all of College Football. However, they’ve come out to a very measly start, amassing only 577 total yards through their first two contests.

That being said, he was quick to point out the biggest struggles he's seen on tape from the offense that have contributed to the team's early-season struggles, calling it "routine stuff."

"Practice [can fix it]," Swinney followed up. "But that's the frustrating part, is that it hasn't shown up in practice."

While the Tigers looked sharp in practice, Swinney acknowledged that the first game of the season often exposes areas that tape study can't fully reveal, like in-game decision-making, as was evident in the loss to LSU.

"You get into the first game, and again there was a lot there in the first game, [but] in a game like that you're going to get four or five plays and we didn't take advantage of those opportunities," he said. "You know it's going to come down to a play or two, and we just didn't perform like we needed to."

After bouncing back with a 26-17 win over Troy, he was quick to praise the team's progress, particularly on the defensive side.

"But this past week, [we] had some precision in what we were doing. Defensively, after two games, they've done a good job," he stated. "I mean, not that they're perfect, but they've given up three touchdowns in two games. I can live with that; the fourth touchdown was the offense on a pick-six."

Turning back to the offense, Swinney said the main issue has been execution in-game rather than effort or talent, noting that when all 11 players on the field aren't doing their jobs, the unit can't function at its best.

"We've just got to clean up the execution part from an offensive standpoint... Guys got to make the plays that are there. That's where it starts, whether it's the quarterback or catching the ball," he remarked. "We got nine out of 11 guys doing their job, and that's not going to be a great offense when that's the case."

As the Tigers sit at 1-1 on the season entering conference play, the Clemson head coach remains optimistic and looks forward to getting better heading into Week 3 versus the Yellow Jackets.

"[We] played two games, got two different experiences and two opportunities to learn, teach and grow," he stated. "Our job is to go get better."