Quick Notes from Swinney on ACC teleconference

by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - Wed Nov 05 10:42:01 GMT-04:00 2014

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney Dabo Swinney
Head Coach
View Full Profile spoke to members of the media for Wednesday's ACC teleconference previewing the Thursday night game against Wake Forest. Here are some of the highlights.

- Looking forward to playing in front of a national audience.

- Our team is prepared really well during the open date.

- Wake Forest is very young and improved. Very impressed with how hard they play. They have been on the verge on a lot of games (citing B.C. and FSU).

- Wake is a very capable group. Its about us trying to play at a high level.

- Swinney on Stoudt: Cole has been tremendous during his career. He was a great backup for us and was always ready. He did not get to redshirt. He loved his Clemson experience. He stayed the course. He has worked really hard to be a good player. I was really proud of how he worked this summer to win the job. Stoudt handled the quarterback change with "grace and class." He has led us to three straight wins. He was hurt but gutted it out against Louisville. I am proud of Cole and happy that he has had some success this year. He has been one of the team's best leaders.

- Swinney asked overall view of Syracuse: I was impressed with Syracuse. They did want they needed to do to get a chance to win. They won the turnover margin. It was a good team win for us.

- Swinney on Watson playing: Watson will be ready to play (against Wake). He will only play if we only need him to win the game. Want to try and wait until Monday to "cut him loose." He will be geared up and ready to go though.

- Swinney on question on the struggling offense: We only need to score one more point than the opponent. That's all. We needed seven points in the last game and we scored 16. We are not trying to win a popularity contest. Just want to win. We must take of the ball and finish more drives.

- Swinney on Wake's senior CB's - Merrill Noel and Kevin Johnson: They are two of the best we'll face.

- Swinney asked about FSU: This is a very competitive league. There is not much difference (between Clemson and FSU). Great teams find a way to win and that is what they (FSU) have done. Last year, the ACC had 11 bowl teams. You have to bring it every week. This is a deep league from top to bottom. Some leagues have a few heavy teams at the top. We are a very balanced in that regard. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day.

- Swinney on playing a Thursday night game: We just try to make the week the same from a mental and preparation standpoint. We do not get caught up at the time or day we play. We just try to play to a standard.