Dabo Swinney says this Clemson team compares favorably to 2016 National Championship team

Dabo Swinney went on his weekly radio show Monday night and shared some optimistic thoughts for the rest of the 2023 season.

Swinney was asked to compare his 2023 team to the 2016 squad that went on to win the National Championship. According to Jon Blau of the Post and Courier, Swinney said the 2016 “stunk” but was luckier than this version of the Tigers.

“I’ve never had a team that played better in the first four games,” Swinney said.

As far as no team "playing better" in his tenure, Swinney says he's referring to dominating the line of scrimmage, out-gaining opponents, etc.

"But the No. 1 stat in football and the great equalizer is the turnover."

— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) September 26, 2023

Clemson is 2-2 so far this season, but it has been relatively unlucky. The Tigers had multiple lost fumbles in the red zone against Duke, which heavily contributed to their 28-7 loss back in Week 1.

Clemson also had multiple chances to beat No. 4 Florida State on Saturday, but couldn’t get the job done. The Tigers missed a 30-yard field goal that would have given them the lead late in regulation.

Clemson’s defense has been strong to start the season. The Tigers have allowed just 4.22 yards per play, which ranks No. 10 nationally.

Swinney’s team will be in action again on Saturday against Syracuse.