Everyone associated with the Clemson football team — including its head coach — wants to forget about last week’s season opener.
The quickest way for that to happen is to avoid another embarrassment on Saturday night when the Tigers host Georgia Southern.
Clemson (0-1) is coming off a 51-10 loss at then-No. 11 LSU, marking the worst margin of defeat in Dabo Swinney’s tenure and the program’s biggest loss since 2000.
“It did not go anything like we expected or wanted it to go, but we’re moving on,” Swinney said. “We get 11 more and then we’re going to count them all up at the end. Everything is about right here, right now and getting ready for Georgia Southern.”
A national contender for most of Swinney’s nearly two decades at the school, Clemson is unrecognizable from the days of Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence interrupting the Nick Saban-led dynasty with two CFP titles.
The Tigers mustered eight first downs to LSU’s 38 on Saturday and were outgained 644-145. Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds split time at quarterback, combining to throw for 105 yards.
On the heels of a 7-6 season that saw the Tigers lose four games at home, the veteran head coach is placing a major emphasis on defending Memorial Stadium — starting Saturday.
“That’s a big goal of mine this year,” Swinney said. “It’s always a big goal, but especially coming off of last year, we need to get back to making sure we handle our business at home. We’ve got a great opportunity with a night game, but obviously we’ve got a lot to improve on and that’s our focus.”
Clemson hasn’t lost to a non-power conference opponent since 2009, when it fell to then-Mountain West Conference member TCU.
For Georgia Southern (1-0), the goal will be to bring the Tigers even closer to rock bottom. Head coach Clay Helton’s team blanked Charleston Southern 31-0 in its season opener, but the Eagles know they’ll have a desperate team waiting for them on Saturday.
“One of the things that I think coach Swinney does a magnificent job of is having his teams ready after facing adversity,” Helton said. “They always propel forward. He’s still only one of two coaches in college football right now that has two FBS national championships. He’ll have that team prepared. But just like last week, we’re more focused on us improving with what we can do.”
After a season opener that saw Georgia Southern allow just 117 total yards, Helton’s group enters with confidence — especially defensive back Aaron Sears.
“I don’t like jumping the gun, but once I saw some of the things I saw, I was smiling pretty happy about our odds going into the game this week,” Sears said. “Just happy and pumped up for it.”
The Eagles are making their second visit to Clemson following a 38-7 loss in 2018.
