This college football season, the ACC is pretty loaded, with the Florida State Seminoles, North Carolina Tar Heels, Duke Blue Devils, and Louisville Cardinals all ranked in the AP Top 25 entering Week 8. Nowhere to be seen in that rankings list are the Clemson Tigers, who have been consistent contenders for the better part of the past decade-plus under head coach Dabo Swinney. But this season, the Tigers are 4-2 on the year, with losses to Duke to start the season and Florida State on Sept. 23. Long story short, a College Football Playoff berth doesn't look to be in the picture for Clemson this year.
Swinney spoke on his radio show 'Tiger Calls' and discussed the fanbase's disappointment in the team's 4-2 record this season. The head coach decided to call out those fans for unrealistic expectations, saying that maybe the team should lose more games to "lighten up the bandwagon."
The quote comes courtesy of Brett McMurphy of the Action Network.
"Sometimes the bandwagon can get a little too full," said Swinney.
Dabo Swinney suggests Clemson needs to lose more games to 'lighten up the bandwagon'
Swinney did follow up on his comments while speaking with reporters on Tuesday and doubled down, saying of the fanbase, "98.5 percent of them are amazing."
"I don't think anybody's satisfied with 4-2," said Swinney, h/t Christina Long of the Greenville News. "I guess nobody has a sense of humor anymore around here. That's just kind of the world we live in .... It's freaking hard to win, and to win consistently is almost impossible. If people don't understand that, I can't help them. I just made a comment of, a little adversity along the way, you hate it, but the one positive is it makes you grow. You also learn who's with you, and that's good.
"I love our fans. Again, 98.5% of them are amazing. But the other 1.5%, they create a lot of the problems. They're part of the problem, not part of the solution ... I've had plenty of criticism along my way, and it's just part of it. I know what's real and what's not real. If anybody doesn't believe in us after what they've been able to witness the last 15 years, they're not going to believe in us. It doesn't matter to me."
That won't exactly win over said frustrated fans, as the team will miss out on a chance to win the CFP National Championship for the third consecutive year.
Swinney does hold the distinction of leading Clemson to a bowl game every season since becoming the head coach of the program back in 2008. As McMurphy points out, Swinney has recorded 10 wins in each of the last 12 seasons. But, the fans have become accustomed to the trips to the CFP, as the team has done so four times, and brought the National Championship back twice.
Clemson's schedule isn't getting any easier. Following Miami, they face some tough opponents in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Nov. 4) and North Carolina (Nov. 18).
While Swinney does have love for most of the fanbase, he won't exactly shed a tear if the "1.5 percent" move on.
