Clemson seeks to 'dominate' out of bye week as season turns to second half

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Oct. 13—CLEMSON — However many ways one could describe Clemson football in 2026, it'd be hard to find someone calling the Tigers dominant.

Clemson is 3-2 and 2-1 in the ACC. The two losses came to ranked opponents in LSU and Miami. The wins haven't been dominant either, with Clemson ranked 118th in the nation for average points per game and 131st during wins.

So no, it hasn't been dominant, but the Tigers have done enough to stay afloat and come out of the bye tied for the third-best record in the ACC.

"We got a couple weeks there — great opportunity for us if we can handle our business — to be right in the mix in November," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "We weren't there last year, and so to be able to have a chance to be in the mix in November is our goal."

Before Clemson can take stock of its status in the mix in November, it's set to take on Charleston Southern in the midpoint of the Tigers' 2026 season. Swinney said Clemson has to dominate the game as it prepares to play five straight ACC opponents plus its annual rivalry game with South Carolina in the second half of the year.

"We've got a big couple weeks coming up," he said. "We got to go dominate a game and try to get to 4-2 next week."

Swinney and the Tigers have been mostly successful after bye weeks. Clemson is 18-6 in games immediately following open dates since he took over as the interim head coach during the 2008 season. The first win of Swinney's head coaching career was a 27-21 Clemson win over Boston College on Nov. 1, 2008, following a bye.

This is also the most favorable opponent out of a bye in his career. In the Swinney era, Clemson has never played an FCS opponent after a bye week.

"This seems unusual to me that we're playing a FCS school after the break," he said. "I think that's a good thing for us because I think, like I said, we've had some games, but we haven't had much margin for error, and we really haven't been able to play as many of the guys."

Swinney said the goals for Clemson in the bye week were to get healthy and work on correcting self-inflicted mistakes, adding that the break would be "all Clemson."

The Tigers are also seemingly eager to be in a position to assess its younger depth players. Charleston Southern is 3-3 this season and 0-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Clemson won 66-17 in the last meeting between the two teams in 2023.

There's no betting odds available for FBS-FCS games, but ESPN Analytics gives Clemson a 99 percent chance of winning.

Swinney has been complimentary of his opponents this season, including Charleston Southern. He didn't, however, shy away from the fact Clemson would benefit inside and out from a dominant showing against a lesser opponent.

"Not taking Charleston Southern lightly, but I mean, we're a better football team than Charleston Southern," he said. "We need to show up, and we need to play the way we're capable of playing."

Next up

Next up

What: Clemson (3-2, 2-1 ACC) vs. Charleston Southern (3-3, 0-2 OVC)

When: Saturday, noon

Where: Memorial Stadium, Clemson

TV: ACC Network

Reach Jackson Castellano at jcastellano@postandcourier.com. Follow him on X @jaxacastellano.

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