Dabo touts 'credibility' after Clemson's latest loss

Clemson manager Dabo Swinney, trying to salvage what's near of this play aft Saturday's nonaccomplishment to SMU, said determination is "no quit" successful his squad and touted his "credibility" aft 18 years astatine the school.

The Tigers, who started the play with a No. 4 ranking and nationalist title aspirations, fell to 3-4 with their 35-24 location loss to the Mustangs.

"We hopefully person earned a batch of credibility astir here," said Swinney, who has won 2 nationalist championships and 9 ACC titles successful clip astatine Clemson. "There's been a batch of large years, a batch of large years. But this is simply a pugnacious one.

"We're going to effort to combat our mode and decorativeness this happening the precise champion that we can. And past we'll commencement implicit conscionable similar we bash each year. You know, that's what we bash each year. We person a large year, we person a pugnacious year, you know, we commencement implicit and past you spell backmost to work."

Clemson has had lone 1 losing play since 1998, erstwhile the Tigers were 3-8 nether Tommy West. That came successful 2010, erstwhile Swinney and the Tigers finished 6-7 aft losing successful the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

The nonaccomplishment to SMU connected Saturday was the Tigers' 5th consecutive against Power Conference teams -- the archetypal clip that's happened astatine Clemson since the 1970-71 seasons.

"I instrumentality the bully with the bad," Swinney said. "I don't similar it, but that's conscionable my perspective. And I cognize thing bully volition travel from it. I committedness you though, I've ne'er worked harder. And I'm going to proceed to bash everything I tin and we'll beryllium back.

"We'll triumph much championships. We'll triumph much championships. All right? I committedness you that. May not hap this year, but we're going to triumph much championships. That's each I tin say. And I deliberation we person a way grounds that demonstrates that."

Swinney, who has an 183-51 wide record, is successful the midst of a 10-year, $115 cardinal hold and would bid a $60 cardinal buyout if the programme were to marque a change. He understands fans' frustrations, but helium said helium takes "full responsibility" and wants to hole it.

"I don't blasted them [fans]. I'm disappointed, too. We're each disappointed. We're incredibly frustrated," Swinney said. "But that's wherever we are and I instrumentality afloat work for that. But each I tin bash is support moving and spot if we tin find a mode to triumph the adjacent game.

"... We got to prime ourselves up and support going. That's what we're going to do. There ain't nary discontinue successful this bunch. That's 1 happening I'll accidental astir this team. It hurts, but there's nary quit. We're going to combat our butts disconnected to the end. And past we'll number them each up, and past we'll -- you know, it's a season. And close present it's not been anyplace adjacent the play that we want."

Clemson, which played SMU without first-team Preseason All-American backmost Cade Klubnik (ankle), was outgained 139-35 connected the crushed by the Mustangs. Christopher Vizzina made his archetypal commencement Saturday, but Swinney expects Klubnik to instrumentality aft the bye week.

"It's jarring, and it's disappointing," Swinney said. "We person to get better.

"... Me personally, I consciousness similar I'm benignant of surviving 2010 each implicit again. That's what I consciousness like. We conscionable can't look to rather enactment it unneurotic and get retired of our way. But it's football. It's football. But we'll support going, we'll bounce up, we'll prime ourselves up."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.