Dabo Swinney admits, when his Clemson team lost to Alabama in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship, he was angry.

The Tigers lost to Alabama, 45-40, thank primarily to two special teams plays – a surprised onside kick by Alabama and later giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown.

“I was angry after that 2015 game. I was angry that year. I was disappointed,” Swinney said.

Clemson used that anger the next year as motivation, as they went back to the title game and this time defeated the Crimson Tide in the 2017 CFP National Championship.

But don’t look for an angry Clemson team this season. Though the Tigers lost to LSU in last year’s national championship game, Swinney says this coming season is a different deal.

“For us, it is just excitement about being able to go compete again and see what this team can do,” he said. “That is all I am motivated by.”

In this time, when there are other things going on in this world such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers are not motivated by a loss. That’s behind them now. They’re just anxious, like everyone, to get back on the practice fields and start working towards the 2020 season.

“I would not say I am angry. I am happy. I’m too blessed to be stressed,” Swinney said. “That is how I look at it. It is all part of it. We got our butts whipped and we just move on. That’s in the rearview mirror. Just like if we had won, it’s in the rearview mirror.

“I’m not sitting around worried about that, we had an unbelievable run, [won] twenty-nine games in a row. We have been in four of the last five national championship games. We have had a lot of success, but, along the way, we have had some challenges, too. It is just a part of where you are.”

For Clemson, it is just about the 2020 team. It’s about what is in front of them.

“To me, as I always say, I am more motivated by winning than by losing. I am not one of those guys that needs to lose to get motivated. I am motivated by winning. I am disappointed that we got beat that last game,” Swinney said.

“I really wasn’t angry. I thought our guys were very well prepared and really laid it on the line for our team,” he continued. “Yeah, we wish we could have done a few things better, but they were the better team and they earned it. You tip your hat and you move on.”

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