Swinney Implores the Tiger Fans to Show Up Saturday

If the Tigers are to win their 18th straight night game, Swinney believes they will need a crowd.

CLEMSON, S.C.— For the first time this season, the Clemson Tigers will play on a normal cadence this week when the team hosts the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Saturday, Sept. 17. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium is set for 8 p.m. ET. 

Clemson opened the season with a long lead-up to its Monday night opener against Georgia Tech before facing Furman on a five-day turnaround last week. 

"There's a reason why you don't see many people play on Monday night on the road and then play again on Saturday," Head Coach Dabo Swinney said. "I'm thankful we can have a normal week. This will be our first normal week of the year. We haven't had a normal week yet, so I'm excited about that." 

Saturday's game will be Clemson's second of the season in prime time but its first night game at Death Valley in 2022. Clemson is 41-7 at night since 2015 and 22-4 in night games since 2018. Under newly installed LED lights as part of recent renovations to Memorial Stadium, Clemson will attempt to win its 18th consecutive night game in Death Valley, a streak that dates to the middle of the 2013 season.

However, if the Tigers are to win their 18th straight night game, Swinney believes they will need a crowd.

"We need a great crowd. We don't need to take for granted how hard it is to win," Swinney said. "It's hard to win. We have won a bunch of games at home and have beaten a lot of people but our environment is one of the main reasons. Let's show up and have an unbelievable environment. We'll get our guys on our end to show up as well."

As if the fans needed any proof that winning is hard, all Swinney had to do was turn on the TV Saturday and watch the upsets happen—which is a good thing when coaching a group of 18-22 years old.

"Absolutely. They're young people," Swinney said. "They're told how great they are. That's one of the things I hate about the recruiting process, the rankings and all that mess. You have to show up and compete. Yeah, it helps, to answer your question. As fans, you get reminded that you cannot take anybody for granted. Marshall was plus 3 in the turnover margin. App State was plus 3. Next thing you know ... a tight game and you lose. Talent only gets you so far. Talent is just part of the equation."

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