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CLEMSON -- Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media Sunday evening during his weekly teleconference, this time to look back on his team's 24-10 win over Texas A&M while also looking ahead to next Saturday's visit with Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.

The Tigers opened Sunday as a 24-point favorite over the Orange. It marked the fifth consecutive year Clemson has been at least a 23-point favorite over Syracuse.

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The following is an edited, condensed transcript of Swinney's Sunday Evening Teleconference.

OPENING STATEMENTS: "Good evening. I want to follow up on what I said last night. I'm really proud of our team. It was a tough, physical game. Texas A&M is going to be a really good team and will win a bunch of games this year, so I'm proud of our guys for how they controlled the game. We have two big wins under our belts now. A lot of positives but still a lot of room for improvement ...

"Offensively, it was good to see us throw the ball like we did. We had just three drops. We got our running backs involved in the passing game. We had a bunch of big plays and three drives of over 80 yards. We had a slow start, but responded well in the second quarter. But again ... so much we can improve on. I don't have any doubt we'll do just that.

'Defensively, I just thought they accepted the challenge. A&M put 500-something yards on us last year. They only averaged two yards a carry and we affected their quarterback. We created two turnovers, sacks, a bunch of negative yards. A lot of positives but still a lot of things we can improve on. We need to make more plays that are there.

"Special teams? That's back to back weeks Will Spiers has done well. That's what we have seen in practice. B.T. Potter continues to kick the ball well.

"Overall a great win and a great day in the valley. Now we're excited about heading out on the road. Syracuse is a tough place.

"Injury-wise, we're in good shape. We came through it pretty good. We'll get back at it tomorrow at practice."

Q: With Amari Rodgers being back, what can he bring to your offense at this time?

SWINNEY: "We'll work him back in. He's still working his way back into football day-to-day shape. It's huge getting him back. He is a great player. He's very dynamic, tough, a great leader and can do a lot of things with the ball. He gives us a guy we trust as a return man as well. Once we feel like he's where he needs to be, we'll see his opportunities go up."

Q: Is he different than some of your other guys, your taller guys?

SWINNEY: "I'd say he's more similar. He plays big. He's physical, he breaks tackles and plays long. He high-points balls. He has long arms and uses his length well. He uses his body when he is making plays. There is nothing he can't do. He can play any position. He has worked at our 2-man and 5-man and that will continue."

Q: What's it like in pregame when you're on top of the hill and you're about to run down? That moment?

SWINNEY: "Indescribable. Unbelievable. It's great to have the privilege to experience something like that. I never take it for granted. I'm so amazed with the energy and passion with that moment. I try to lock in and make sure I get down that hill without falling."

Q: Lyn-J Dixon got a good number of carries yesterday. Was he the hot hand or did you want to give Etienne a break?

SWINNEY: "He's got to play. That's the way it will be all year. He is our second guy. Travis can't play every snap. Travis had 20 touches and was very productive and led our team in all-purpose yards. He didn't have quite as many long runs. It was a very hot day. Travis played 45 snaps. Lyn-J Dixon played 21 snaps. You'll see that throughout the year. They'll tag off of each other. We'll keep them fresh and keep them ready."

Q: Without having Adam Choice or Tavien Feaster behind Travis, what is your confidence in Lyn-J in everything that you need him to do, particularly blocking?

SWINNEY: "Oh he's got it. Travis, his sophomore year, freshman year, played a good bit and had some big moments and then that sophomore year he took a big step. He became a great player. I see Lyn-J in that same realm. I trust him. He has done a great job with his protections. He is more detailed. He can play in any situation for us. We won't hesitate at all to play him at any point just like we didn't hesitate to play Travis at this stage. Biggest thing is getting a third guy ready to go."

Q: How big has it been to get your younger players involved early?

SWINNEY: "It gives us great momentum. Huge. We're 2-0 entering week three. It gives us confidence and belief in what we're doing and how we do camp. The new guys don't really know. It creates buy-in. We play big games and have won them. So many positives that can come from that. It's been a big opportunity for us to get a lot of people work despite playing two power 5 teams. That should pay big dividends. We have so much more to teach from, too."

Q: Do you know how many snaps Amari played yesterday?

SWINNEY: "He was in there quite a bit. It was 30-something snaps. He and Diondre Overton played about the same amount of snaps. Higgins, Ross and Overton and Amari played the most. 34 snaps actually. Amari played 34."

Q: Curious about the assessment of your inside backers and what looked like a cleaner game from them yesterday.

SWINNEY: "Yeah, they played well. Definitely a cleaner game. A few mental errors but all those guys had winning performances ... those top four guys who got the majority of the reps. Really proud of Skalski, Isaiah and Chad. Spector got 26 or 27 snaps. Just a good, solid day for those guys. Their confidence is growing. Good job."

Q: When you go into a game knowing you're going to bring that much pressure, is there a level of fear knowing you could give up big plays?

SWINNEY: "We mixed it up with how we brought the pressure. We played some man and zone with the pressure, some different things. Any time you bring pressure, I wouldn't say fear, but there is always a chance you could give up a big play. That kind of comes with the territory. We're an attack defense and aggressive, but we try to find balance with our pressure game."

Q: You said last night you didn't play quite as many players up front on offense as you wanted to. Could you talk more about that?

SWINNEY: "Just more of the way the game was. We were playing a really good team and it's early in the year. Bockhorst is a guy we have a lot of trust in right now. Cade Stewart is still trying to get healthy after his ankle injury. We have 11 that we trust up front. We wouldn't hesitate to play them. We didn't hardly have any snaps in the first quarter, maybe nine or 10 in the first quarter. It was just kind of a weird start. We got it going in the second quarter. Sometimes you have some games like that."

Q: Syracuse lost by 43 points, but do you have any doubt that you will get their best shot next week?

SWINNEY: "No. I don't have a doubt. They went 4-8 on the season when we lost up there. That game got away from them yesterday. If a 4-8 team can beat us, a 1-1 team can. That game got off to a bad start for them. Maryland also is probably better than some people think. That has nothing to do with this game, though. This is a division game. They are going to be confident. They beat us there last time and almost beat us last year. They'll want to get their season back on track."

Q: Talk about Brent Venables and his staff and all the many looks he presented. Was this one of his best game plans you've ever seen from him?

SWINNEY: "A ton of credit goes to them and the players. The player has to buy in and has to execute the plan. Brent would be the first to tell you that. It takes great preparation to get players ready. Our staff does an awesome job. Brent is just phenomenal. We study all year long. We're always trying to get better. From year to year your personnel is different, so you try to maximize different options you have. It was an excellent plan. We played a team with a lot of different personnel groupings, so that allows us to be more creative. And we really like our experience on the back end. To control the line of scrimmage also was critical. I'm just so proud of our staff and especially these players for being coachable, taking ownership, their energy and physicality and commitment to one another. It was fun to watch."

Q; How is Xavier Thomas' ankle?

SWINNEY: "He came back in and was able to play. Had a big sack. He's sore, just like a lot of guys who get sore in a game like that. But he's fine."

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