Quick notes from Dabo Swinney press conference

by TigerNet Staff - Tue Oct 15 11:12:27 GMT-04:00 2013

* Dabo Swinney Dabo Swinney
Head Coach
View Full Profile said that FSU possibly the best team in the country. Huge challenge. Heisman candidate at quarterback. This is what it is all about. This is the biggest game of the year just like last week and next week. They all are big. Come Monday MD will be the biggest game of the year.

* On offense: They are very explosive and very balanced. They play a lot of guys. Their OL is probably the best OL we have faced. The QB is special. He does not look like a freshman. He is a full grown man. He is poised and accurate. He has handled every test so far. The TE is very involved. The WR are very skilled. They do a great job of getting open and getting yards after catch. Their RB are all great players and will play on Sundays. They do a great job of keeping them fresh.

* Swinney says FSU defense doesn't trick. They will line up and dare you to beat them and the best it's ever been to create energy for our team.

* On defense: They are very well coached and fast. It will be a great challenge because their secondary is the best we will face. It will be our WR's to make plays. There will be tight windows. Tajh will have to play a great game. They are very big and fast on the DL. They are a very balanced team. I do not see any weaknesses. We need to do a better job than last year on the kicking game.

* Two great teams going at it with a lot on the line. This is the reason you do it as a player and a coach. If you come to Clemson , you will play in a pack house. You will get everyone's best shot and you will play games like this on the national stage.

* Dabo says he doesn't get into the underdog role, and doesn't think he will use as motivation. "It comes down to execution." This is a tossup if you ask me. This will come down for a few plays. This is a key game to win the Atlantic division.

* Dabo says "We'll have to play a whole lot better than we did in game one." This is game 7. Similar challenge.

* Tajh Boyd just needs to do the things we need to do to win. Its about playing the game and just giving us a chance to win. All the individual stuff will come with team success.

* When you pay the price for something, you should be confident. We have a humble confidence, not arrogance. We have been ranked 37th week in a row. You do not just do those things.

* Dabo says crowd "lit the inferno" last year in Tallahassse

* These guys don't hope to win, they expect to win. That's a culture from creating that attitude of belief. If you do not truly believe, then you are not gonna be consistently. They believe on how we practice.

* "We might lose the ball game, but it won't be because we aren't prepared. Ain't nobody going to skin us and eat us alive." This is a tough football game. Go play the game. Its that simple. Dabo then reminds the media that they have bad days as well such as typos. As long as we play with great effort, I can live with whatever results we get.

* They had almost 670 yards on us. It was a tell of two halfs. It was a spark there and a spark there. We had a chance to answer on offense. We threw a pick and a 3 and out. The defenses are the key. They are 3rd in scoring defense and we are 10th.

* On the defense: “Freshmen became sophomores. Sophomores became juniors. They were good players; now they’re good players with experience.” We are much more confident. We are playing 10X better than last year in the secondary. We are one of the top teams in the countries in interceptions and sacks. We play with better pad leverage and better understanding. We made great strides from last half of season and carried over to Bowl game and continues to breed that confidence. We are just better prepared and play with a relentless effort.

* Its hard to win and fans think that teams just bow down to a #3 team. I knew the BC game would be a dogfight. Everyone gets tested from time to time. Hopefully, the overall experience will help us.

* On Death Valley: This is a tough place to play. I think Winston is a poised young man. He plays baseball and that is tough sport with having thick skin. We will have to have our crowd at an all-time high.

* Dabo says crowd "lit the inferno" last year in Tallahasse.

* Corey Crawford, whose mom battled cancer, will be a captain this week to honor his mom. He is a great representative of Clemson and his family. I am really proud of Corey Crawford and the leadership that he provides.

* On ACC matchup: This is what we've been wanting, isn't it? They can't talk bad about us now. As a league, we have no provided that dominant team. It is good to see three teams in the ACC. Virginia Tech is coming on strong too. The loser of this game will still be in the top 10 and have lots of opportunity on the national standpoint.

* On Spiller's signing: When Spiller chose to come to Clemson it really changed the game. It put us back in the hunt from a national perspective. I do not know how many records he made. He was the 9th pick in the draft. Him opting to return to school his senior year was a turning point for the program.

* On Clemson's program: We were a good team in '09 but we weren't a good program. We have a good program now. We are setup for success for a long time. We have slowly and methodically built this program over the past five years.

* Dabo says Mike Williams is better as a freshman than Nuk Hopkins was as a freshman. He wants to see how he will progress like Nuk over the years.

* On Clemson's fans: "Nobody does it better than Clemson, second to none."

* Dabo says "how things are only unthinkable if you don't think them." He wanted five years ago for Clemson to be the model program in the nation. "It's never been unthinkable to me since the day I got this job."

* Dabo was asked if he was a heckler growing up watching Alabama games. He said no. I have never been a heckler. I have yelled at a few refs along the way.

* Germone Hopper and Ronald Geohaghan are both available this week if they complete their tasks.