Everything Dabo Swinney, Cade Klubnik said after Clemson beat SMU

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and quarterback Cade Klubnik spoke with the media after Saturday’s ACC Championship win over SMU. Here’s what they said.

DABO SWINNEY: At halftime, I said, guys, these guys, this game is a long way from being over, and they showed who they were and how they fought back.

We had some critical mistakes in the second half that didn’t help us, but at the end of the day we found a way. Unbelievable return by Adam Randall, and then a great play. We didn’t finish last week on the little drive, and great play by Antonio, and then an unbelievable kick by Hauser.

Proud of our team. Happy for our fans. Congratulations to SMU. I said on the field, just thankful that the good Lord just blessed us with a moment like that. It’s pretty special when you experience something like we just experienced on the field and in the locker room. It’s amazing and special.

Thankful, and look forward to going to our seventh playoff. It’s our eighth championship in 10 years and our seventh CFP, and the highest graduation rate in the country to go along with it. I’m really happy. I’m proud of our program consistency, who these guys are, how they believe in all things Clemson.

It’s just awesome, just awesome to be a part of it, and just to be able to do life with these guys day in and day out — this ol’ boy from Texas I think is still undefeated in championship games against some Texas teams. Just a great, great moment.

And SMU, I can’t say enough good things about them. That’s a playoff team. There’s no way they can’t be in. They should not be punished for that moment right there. They should be in the playoff, and obviously we’re going, and we look forward to having a pizza party tomorrow and figuring out where we’re going to go.