Clemson coach Dabo Swinney praised the team’s toughness after a promising 24-10 win against the California Golden Bears in Berkeley.
The Tigers ran for 255 and held the Bears without an offensive touchdown, dominating Cal’s star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in his worst college performance.
“We were a tough football team and that’s probably my biggest objective coming into this season,” Swinney said in a postgame press conference.
“I felt like we needed to be a tougher team, especially when it comes to running the football,” he added.
Clemson, who were through the early season looking for consistency, finally achieved what they can reply on.
Gideon Davidson recorded 22 times for a career-high 159 yards, averaging more than seven yards per attempt, and his 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter pushed a narrow lead into a more convincing winning margin.
Clemson put on a strong show, with credit to its defence for a dominant play.
“Defensively, it’s about points. Three points, that’s all we gave up,” said Swinney.
The Tigers held Cal to 231 yards of total offence, 145 passing, and 86 rushing.
“It may be the best team in the country. I’ve seen enough of them, but we’ve seen that quarterback. He’s freak show. They got some dudes,” Swinney gushed.
With both teams on a winning streak in the conference play, the Tigers’ head coach described the game as an early test of Clemson’s progress.
“At the end of the day, hey, you’re both undefeated in the league and all you can ask for is opportunity. We will have to play by far our best game to have a chance to beat those guys,” Swinney noted.
Clemson will host the No. 6 Miami Hurricanes next week.
2026-09-26 18:19:00
