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Despite Hate Mail, Tigers 'Can't Wallow in Pity' After Loss to Georgia

After the Tigers' disappointing performance on offense in a 10-3 loss to Georgia, Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott has already begun receiving hate mail but says he, nor the team can afford to wallow in pity.

One game into the season and the hate mail has already started to arrive.

The Clemson offense was stifled for much of the night in a 10-3 loss to Georgia, being held to less than 200 yards total, and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott told the media on Monday morning that he knows this one hurts.

"I understand how passionate our fans are and what the expectation is here," Elliott said. "And it hurts. I hurt for them because they're upset that we didn't perform well. Because I know what it means to them so. So yes, there's a there's the feeling of hurt, but we can't wallow in our pity right, we got to change our perspective."

In fact, Elliott said some of the hurt the fan base is feeling has started to show up in his DM's on his social media accounts.

"I've already got the Twitter fingers sending the hate mail telling me that I suck and I'm going to be fired, I need to go back to Michelin, things of that nature," Elliott said. "You know it hurts. It hurts for a couple of reasons. It hurts because I know how much work this offensive staff and players have put in, I know how committed they are to this program. Nobody wants to go out on national TV and not play their best."

However, after going back and watching the film, Elliott was happy with the effort the Tigers played with. That the difference in the game was in the details, as the Tigers just didn't execute well enough in key situations.

"They played hard to play, physical," Elliott said. "I didn't feel like we physically just got out-matched. We got beat in some one-on-ones, but you're talking about NFL players going against NFL players, you are gonna lose some one-on-one matchups. The biggest thing we got to realize offensively is just focusing on the details, the little things and everybody being on the same page."

With FCS opponent SC State up next, Elliott's attention has now turned towards how his offense responds to the setback. 

"How do we respond," Elliott said. "And these guys are going to respond. I'm excited to see the growth that's gonna take place. You got a football team that cares. You know they care."