A day before Clemson took the field in what ultimately became its final game of a tumultuous season, Dabo Swinney tried to explain how his team fought to get to that point.
The Tigers reached another College Football Playoff semifinal after players pushed for social justice reform and to play through a pandemic. They withstood their first regular-season loss in years after star quarterback Trevor Lawrence was sidelined by COVD-19 at the worst possible time. And Swinney's team, once viewed as college football's plucky upstarts, had suddenly become the villain in the eyes of many fans and commentators.