When Dabo Swinney spoke at his postgame press conference late Saturday afternoon, he gave zero indication that he knew what was going on in Syracuse.
What struck me and others watching the press conference were the tones of finality Swinney was issuing. He said beating South Carolina would've made it a great season, but that aspiration was now off the table in making it just a good season.
No doubt he and everyone inside the program put a lot into this game over the past two weeks.
Still, it was at least a little jarring for him not to even give credence to the "so you're saying there's a chance" line of thinking regarding Clemson's chances of back-dooring into the 12-team playoff.
It really makes you wonder if he was already thinking ahead to some changes to his staff, or to his philosophy on pursuing high-grade portal talent, or something else beyond what was going on at the moment.
Much more here in our first update of the day at Tigerillustrated.com.
THE DAY AFTER (For subscribers-only)
