CLEMSON -- As No. 11 Clemson tried to rally in Saturday's 33-21 loss to Louisville, it scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
However, both scores took too much time off the clock, as the Tigers needed 16 plays and 5:01 off the clock to drive 61 yards. The second scoring drive was not much better, as they used up 12 plays and 3:43 to cross the goal line on a 75-yard drive.
On both drives, as well as a drive late in the third quarter, Clemson struggled to get plays in at times due to having the wrong personnel on the field or not having a since of urgency to get lined up and play fast.
"We just did not get the calls in there or have quite the urgency we needed, personnel, you name it across the board," head coach Dabo Swinney said. "At times, it was good, but there were a few times where we were trying to get the right call and it's a lot of points that you are trying to make up."
Swinney said the Tigers (6-2, 5-1 ACC) still needed to run the football a little bit to keep the Cardinals honest, so they were trying to get the right personnel in a few times and that slowed the process up.
The personnel issues caused Clemson to have to burn a timeout way earlier than they wanted to in the second half.
"Again, at times we were good, but there were other times where I would like for us to be quicker," Swinney said.
The Tigers did get the ball back with a little less than two minutes to go but failed to get the ball into the end zone before time ran out. The last drive consisted of 12 plays and covered 67 yards and used the last 1:43 of play clock.
"We looked like a very poorly coached team tonight, and that is on me," Swinney said.