Dabo Swinney said Tuesday he's sympathetic to fans' frustrations over Clemson's 4-3 start to the season, but he remains confident the Tigers are knocking on the door of a markedly better outcome.
Swinney lamented a lost opportunity to knock off Virginia Tech last week when Clemson "had about 10 opportunities to win the game" before ultimately falling 20-16, and said that outcome has been indicative of a bevy of missteps that have had major ramifications for the team.
"We have really talented players," Swinney said. "We should have a better record than we have right now. And that's on me. I'm not going to say we should be undefeated. We've played some really good teams. But I think we should have a better record right now. We're a good team."
Clemson lost its opener to LSU 51-10 and also fell to current No. 1 Miami 41-13 earlier this month.
At the heart of the Tigers' struggles has been an offensive attack that has mustered two passing touchdowns all season. In last week's loss, Swinney said Clemson dialed back the playbook in the second half to limit the reads freshman QB Tait Reynolds had to make. Swinney also lamented that tailback Gideon Davidson played the worst game of his career by making a number of mistakes that allowed a pair of sacks and curtailed several big-play opportunities.
"It's like you stick your finger in a hole here, and we get a leak over here," Swinney said. "Some of it is inexperience and some youth, but it's also the opponent. We haven't lost to a bad team."
Swinney said some of the offensive struggles come down to Clemson not having anticipated handing the reins to a true freshman QB. Senior Christopher Vizzina was slated as the starter, but he was injured in Week 2 and has not played since. Swinney said Vizzina is healthy now but that the job remans Reynolds'. Neither QB has shown a mastery of the offense, however, and Swinney refused to offer any regret over his decision not to chase a quarterback in the transfer portal last offseason.
"I don't look back on that type of stuff," Swinney said. "You live with the decisions you make, and you do what you think is right. Sometimes it doesn't work out the way you want, but I don't have any regrets."
For the season, Clemson quarterbacks have a 29.0 Total QBR, worst in the Power Four and 129th nationally, while completing 65% of their throws with two touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Swinney also offered support for embattled offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who is in his first year as Clemson's playcaller after spending five years away from the college game. Morris was Swinney's OC from 2011-14 before leaving for a head coaching job at SMU.
"I know his name is mud right now," Swinney said, "but he's a really smart coach."
Swinney said he would not be taking a more active role in the offensive game plan or playcalling than what he has done in the past, noting "my job is to support these guys the best I can."
Clemson is 10-12 vs. Power Four competition in the past two calendar years, including dropping four of its past six.
The Tigers travel to Florida State this week to take on the Seminoles in a game between two embattled programs that had once stood atop the ACC.
"I know it's frustrating, but that's the process," Swinney said. "We're in a little bit of a rough patch right now, but we're going to get back where we want to be."
