Swinney says Nate Wiggins' play was inspiring on a long Senior Day

Nate Wiggins showed the effort that Dabo Swinney wants to see.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Nov 18 23:30:29 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Clemson’s seniors were able to walk off the field as winners.

Clemson defeated UNC 31-20 Saturday afternoon in Death Valley, capping Senior Day and the home portion of the season with the victory over the Tar Heels.

“That was a long game. I don't know how long that game was, but it seemed forever. But what a great football game,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “What a great win for our guys. Special day. For a lot of reasons, it's a great home finish for this team to finish 6-1 at home and the way they battled. It's a great, great finish for our seniors. There's nothing better than those guys being able to walk off that field one last time, a winner. That's three in a row. That's three turnover margins that we've won in a row and that's three wins in a row. It's amazing the correlation there. But we're playing our best football, and it's fun to watch. I'm really just proud of these guys. A lot of good things.”

Swinney said he was thankful for a packed Death Valley.

“Man, it was awesome. Our fans were awesome. It was just awesome. I'm thankful for that,” Swinney said. “In fact, right before I came over here, I was reading, I think it was on ESPN or something, there was an article about one of the fan bases in another place, nobody there, nobody at the game or whatever. It’s special. I think we are 68-3 in our last 71 here at home. Our fans, they do their part up above and beyond. It was awesome today.

“I think there were five offsides, four in the second half. Our fans were awesome. Just so much fun to be able to do something that you love to do in an environment like that. It was great. Just hats off to them. Great, great day.”

UNC gained 457 yards of total offense but managed just three touchdowns after losing two redzone fumbles.

“Defensively, we bent a little bit, obviously,” Swinney said. “That's the third best offense in the country coming in here, and obviously, that quarterback is pretty dang special and running back, receiver. We gave up some yards, but they were six in the country on third down, and they finished up 29%. So 4 of 14 on third down. I think that's Drake Maye's lowest completion percentage of his career (16-of-35, 44 percent). We turned him over. That's three games in a row we've had three takeaways. That's the best way to win the margin, is to go get them. We were able to do that. I'm really just proud of our defense. It was awesome. Four sacks. A lot of guys making plays."

One of the guys making plays was cornerback Nate Wiggins, who chased down North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton and stripped Hampton of the ball just shy of the goal line.

“The play by Nate was unbelievable. That's one of the greatest football plays I've ever seen. I mean, it was special to watch,” Swinney said. “I always talk to these guys about whatever you do, you should do it in a way that inspires others. Whether you're playing football, whether you're covering football, whether you're whatever, you should do it in a way that inspires other people by how you do what you do. That was inspiring. That was just inspiring. I mean, just tip your hat. I don't know how much ground he made up, but the only thing that I've seen live like that was when I was playing in the Sugar Bowl in the National Championship in '93, when I literally saw George Teague run and take the ball and turn around and go the other way. It's just one of those things that happens. You go like, That just happened. Because that kid can fly. I mean, I can't wait to get the GPS data on just how fast he was running. But it's special, and it was inspiring.”