Dabo Swinney talks FSU vs. Clemson
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has his weekly press conference on Tuesday ahead of his team's game against 4th-ranked Florida State on Saturday at noon. Here is some of what the Tigers head coach had to say about the game and the Seminoles.
Opening Remarks
"This is a really good football team, you know, coming into the Valley this week. We are super excited about being back at home and another opportunity. It's hard to believe this is our third home game already. Our crowd was awesome last week, and we are going to need them this week to be that 12th person for us. Definitely know that it will be an awesome environment for a great college football matchup and that's what you got. You got two good teams, two great programs in a rivalry game early in the season. So, this is Clemson-Florida State at its best right here for sure. This a great football team we are getting ready to play in every sense of the word. Mike (Norvell) has done a great job in really building their program and putting it back together. It's one thing to have good players, it's another thing to get them to play hard, to play together and to play with the right character and attitude and all those types of things and all those things jump out when you watch Florida State play, and it starts with their quarterback.
Dabo on Jordan Travis:
"I mean he is a guy that's been around a little bit, and I've had a chance to watch him and he's a great football player, he's a great kid, he's a winner, he's a guy who makes everyone around him better. He has a ton of football character, a ton of just character in general and that kind of shines through him in every aspect of his life."
On FSU's Offense:
"So, got a lot of respect for this team. Very, very experienced football team that we are getting ready to play on offense and defense. They've got a lot of guys who have played a lot of football starting with their quarterback. A bunch of guys up front who have played a lot of ball. Great backfield, this a really, really dynamic group of backs, three (Trey Benson) you know he's a load. They do a lot of things to get him the ball in the screen game and they're a very physical group up front by nature of their scheme with all the guard-tackle pull stuff that they have, misdirection, lot of play action, they move the pocket a ton with the quarterback, get him out of the pocket, he's a great creator, huge explosive plays that have come from both his arm and his legs. And a lot of big plays come when he just creates. So that is what makes him really, really dangerous. He can beat you in a lot of ways, a million screens and then they have some dynamic playmakers."
"I mean, obviously with (Jaheim) Bell coming in, you've seen him up close, he is a great football player, fourteen (Johnny Wilson) and four (Keon Coleman) is really special talent as well. So, they've got a very dynamic group with their backfield, tight end, receivers and then the quarterback. So, they create a lot of challenges for sure. So, huge battle and matchup there."
On FSU's Defense:
"Defensively, they look like, the Florida State teams on defense that I can grew up here at Clemson watching, if you will. You know, deep up front, bunch of big bodies, bunch of guys that can run, sub guys in and out, physical downhill linebackers and guys in the secondary that play with confidence and try to force the issue. So, it's a physical matchup on both sides. There are going to be a lot of competitive plays on both sides. So, good football team in every sense of the word and we are excited about the opportunity and the challenge and look forward to being apart of it. We will have to play well for sure."
On FSU-Clemson Rivalry:
"This is Clemson-Florida State, none of that matters (addressing whether it was easier when FSU was struggling as a program). It doesn't matter, I mean it doesn't matter what the record is, who won last year, it doesn't matter what you are ranked. This is a game that you better show up, you better show up and be ready. And it's certainly great for the ACC when you have a lot of competitive balance like we have. Our league is really good. We got a lot of good players, a bunch of great quarterbacks and we play about every one of them...but Clemson-Florida State, you can throw all that stuff out, the record...it doesn't matter this is a game of passion. This is a game of a few plays typically. Yeah, there are some anomalies, there have been some on both sides where Clemson is giving up a million points and can barely move the ball, been on both sides of it and it really doesn't matter what you did last week or last year or whatever, this just one of those games, they're all big, This is the biggest game of the year because it's the one we are playing. And I know nobody wants to hear that but that's a fact and if you don't have that mindset when you are on this side of the microphone, you are not going to be very consistent or very good. You win this game, guess what you go to Syracuse next week and lay an egg, well nobody cares. So, every game is the biggest game of the year but there are those games along the way, that you have a long your path, that got a little more juice to them. You get these rivalry matchups where there is a lot of familiarity and intensity with your fan bases and things like that and this is just one of those games."
Here is the condensed YouTube version of Swinney's Press Conference on Tuesday.