CLEMSON -- Sunday evening Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media as part of his weekly teleconference, this time to further discuss his team's crushing, double overtime loss to N.C. State, injuries and a long week of practice ahead in preparation for Boston College (4-0).

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Clemson will host Boston College on Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, televised by the ACC Network. The Tigers are a 14.5-point favorite.

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The following is an abbreviated, edited transcript of Swinney's Sunday evening teleconference.

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OPENING STATEMENTS: "Obviously incredibly disappointing day yesterday in Raleigh. Congratulations to N.C. State. A very difficult loss, incredibly difficult. I'm proud of the effort and will to win. We obviously played poor in some areas but still had a chance to win. They never gave up. Proud of that, but that's two losses now. A few inches away, a couple of plays but we have to learn how to win those games.

"Poor discipline with 13 penalties. We have a hurt team and a lot of guys beat up, but at the end of the day you coach this game long enough you'll have some hardship and that's where we are. My life has taught me that great things come from adversity and challenges along the way. They shape us and grow us. I have no doubt this team is made of the right stuff and will respond. I'm just disappointed in where we are in our start. And we've been here before. We have had a lot of great moments. We have a lot more great moments ahead. Our program was built on and around adversity.

"We're in a spot right now we have not been in for a long time, but like always, we will respond. We will get back to the basics and fundamentals of what we do. This is part of it. We have some areas where we are not playing very well, some youth, some injuries. God doesn't promise us that we won't have adversity. He just promises us that he'll be with us when we go through it. This might be one of the greatest opportunities we have had in quite awhile to lead and teach these young men. We circle the wagons and rally everyone. This story ain't over, man. We have a long season.

"Injury-front. Bryan Bresee tore his ACL. We got some great news on Will Shipley. He did not tear his ACL, so he will be back in the next few weeks. We have some other guys beat up but hopefully everyone will be able to go this week."

Q: Can we get more clarity on Shipley?

SWINNEY: "It was his tibula area. He'll probably be on crutches for a couple of weeks and work back in after that as far as rehab. It could be three weeks, four weeks. All I know is he's going to be back at some point, which is a huge positive because we were expecting the worst."

Q: Any update on Jamie Skalski?

SWINNEY: "Yes. He's going to be fine."

Q: Fred Davis was not in yesterday. Was that a disciplinary issue?

SWINNEY: "No. He rolled his ankle on Thursday and couldn't go. We're hoping he'll be back this week."

Q: You have said you have been pleased with effort and buy-in on offense. Outside of that, what gives you confidence the offense can be better?

SWINNEY: "That's where it starts. When you have good people that care, talented people, you can get it turned around. We have some players who aren't playing with a lot of confidence. Their fundamentals aren't where they need to be and it's no one's fault but mine. We have great kids. Their passionate about it. They never quit yesterday. That's where we are. We've been here before. I understand that everyone is disappointed. You best believe no one is more disappointed than the people on this team.

"Everything in our past prepares us for the future and teaches us for the future. It's not like we've never had adversity. We've always stayed the course. This program is built on a rock and it is built the right way. We're not immune to having bad moments. We're not entitled to win the league or go to the playoffs. We have a talented team and we're not where we thought we would be. There's nothing we can do about that other than to keep grinding and working. There is no quit, no give-up. We're going back to work this week, circle the wagons and see if we can just win a game and go from there."

Q: You said a week and a half ago that the offensive issues were purely execution-related. Now, do you feel like you need to take a deeper look at the scheme or play-calling?

SWINNEY: "I think we have to look at everything. Our No. 1 problem is execution. We're just fundamentally not getting it done. It's a combination of all of those things, but I have to get them better. We should be better than what we're playing. It's my job to get it done and improve. We have a lot of new pieces. It's a missed assignment here or there, sync and rhythm. It's a combination of everything. We all have to do a better job."

Q: Obviously everyone across the country is taking their own shots and criticizing Tony Elliott, referring to the play-calling as having no creativity and that you should replace Tony. How do you respond to that?

SWINNEY: "I can tell you this, there is nobody that I believe in more and trust than Tony Elliott. He just didn't forget football. We had bad moments on defense with youth the last couple of years and I'd say the same about Brent Venables. Tony Elliott is special. I'm not really concerned what other people think, to be quite honest with you. I'm here everyday. I know what the issues are. Yeah, it's disappointing. We've been really, really good offensively here for a long time. A long time. People are quick to forget that.

"This has been a tough start, for sure. But again, we have a lot of pain and there is purpose in the pain and we will get better from it. Tough times bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. There is nobody and I mean nobody that I believe in more than Tony. He is a brilliant man and a brilliant coach."

Q: Earlier you said that it's easy to be all-in when things are great and that it's not always easy to be all-in when things are tough . Do you expect to lose some off the bandwagon?

SWINNEY: "Oh there will be a bunch that jump off the bandwagon but I would say they weren't all-in anyway. Everybody likes a winner. There will be some that will certainly judge us in this moment. That's a product of all the success we have had for a long, long time. We all understand that we're not playing to our standard. No one accepts that, but we also have the right perspective and know where we're going. Again, you have to take the good with the bad. And there has been a ton of good around here. The majority of our fans are great. There's no doubt about that. The season isn't over in September."

Q: You have lost a number of players to the transfer portal in the off-season, particularly players who were in key roles. Do you look back on that now and evaluate your roster numbers?

SWINNEY: "That doesn't have anything to do with our roster number. We were above our number at defensive tackle. We have a number at every position. We were above our number at running back. We're not going to have 10 running backs on scholarship here. We manage our roster and recruit to the numbers we need at each position. It's unfortunate that we have had some injuries. Everyone has that. You take what you've got and try to go win with it."

Q: What is your timeline on Bresee after the season and how is he handling this?

SWINNEY: "He's great. He's got great perspective. His sister has been battling cancer since last spring. He will have the ACL surgery and will try to clean up some stuff on his shoulder while we're at it. He has plenty of time to get well. Post-spring when we start our off-season/summer stuff, he'll be full-go and ready to get back at it. It's unfortunate but it happens in this game. What an unbelievable player he is. I have no doubt he'll be better than ever when we see him again."

Q: Did anyone stand out to you on the offensive line? Anyone make a mark? How do you get that to improve at this point in the season?

SWINNEY: "You keep working. Go back to practice tomorrow, back to the basics and fundamentals. Tchio did OK, Rayburn got a few plays. It's something we are evaluating and we're trying to find the right combination. We're looking for consistency in all of those areas and not just the offensive line. It all goes together. You keep fighting and believing and doing everything you can to get them to get better?"

Q: Was there ever any thought this off-season to bringing in an offensive lineman through the transfer portal?

SWINNEY: "No. There was no one out there that we looked at."

Q: Could you re-evaluate your approach on that going forward?

SWINNEY: "We're always looking for the best player. The reason some of these guys left our program is because we had better guys, guys who were younger. We like the guys we have signed. We have some youth, we have some inexperience. Dietrick Pennington, Tristan Leigh ... they're going to be great players. They're just young. We'd sign them all over again. There is a balance, at some point depending on what happens, you're always evaluating. It depends on who is the best player and how the transfer situation impacts programs. If guys are leaving in the spring, you can't sign guys out of high school. We're only in the first year of this (transfer portal). You're always evaluating but you don't panic because you're having a bad moment. We're literally a couple of plays away from being 4-0. It would be an ugly 4-0 but it would be a lot better than 2-2."

Q: How would you grade the way D.J. Uiagalelei performed yesterday?

SWINNEY: "Inconsistent. Did some good things, made some big, big throws but also missed some things. Just inconsistent just like everybody else out there. That's where we all have to get better offensively."

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