​CLEMSON — If coach Dabo Swinney had any takeaway from Clemson football’s defeat against No. 4 Miami, it’s that the Tigers’ offense let their defense down.The Tigers (3-2, 2-1 ACC) lost 41-13 to the Hurricanes (5-0, 3-0) on Oct. 3 in a game where Clemson’s coach believes his team left too much meat on the bone. He may be right.Clemson scored just three points on its first five drives past midfield. The Tigers got to the 4-yard line before halftime, but blew their chance at a touchdown with a false start and a sack, and kicked a field goal instead. Clemson got into the red zone on its first second-half drive before failing on a fourth-and-2 run.That’s too many missed chances against any team, let alone one of Miami’s caliber. Clemson’s defense allowed 34 points (Miami got to 41 off a pick-6), but Swinney said they played “tough as crap” and shouldn’t get the blame for the loss.”We didn’t help them offensively,” Swinney said. “You just can’t keep putting (the defense) out there against an offense like that and not cashing in when you have the opportunity.”Clemson failing to capitalize on offensive chances meant it was asking the defense to constantly keep it in the game. The Tigers did well in the first half and kept the score at 17-6 by halftime, but the floodgates opened in the second half and Miami went on a rout.Against a team with the Hurricanes’ firepower, Clemson needed its offense to do more than move the ball between the 20s. The Tigers did a good job creating their opportunities. Failing to capitalize on them showed why the final score wasn’t close.”The best way we could help our defense was to have more production offensively,” Swinney said. “We didn’t do that, and we had a couple opportunities. We just didn’t do it. Didn’t cash in … Next time we get in a situation like this and we’re playing, we’ve got to play some complementary football.”What Dabo Swinney said about Tait Reynolds being sacked 6 timesClemson freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds finished 29-of-44 for 295 yards, no touchdowns, one pick-6 interception and a lost fumble. He was also put on the ground over and over again. The Hurricanes sacked Reynolds six times. Reynolds blamed himself for that, believing he held onto the ball for too long too many times.”Maybe I just get the ball out a little quicker, hit my reads a little earlier, move around a little bit more, and help those guys up front,” Reynolds said.Swinney has been a big defender of Clemson’s offensive line. But this time, he didn’t go to bat for them as much, saying he wants to watch film before assessing blame between Reynolds and the offensive line.”The sacks were an issue, and a couple of those are going to be on the OL, and some of them are going to be on the quarterback,” Swinney said. “Got to watch the tape and kind of break it all down.”Nick Coppola covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA Today Network. Email him at ncoppola@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @Nick_Coppola__ and like hi