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Swinney: "We are not a team that has peaked"

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CLEMSON -- Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media Sunday evening as part of his weekly teleconference, this time to look back on his team's win over Florida State.

Opportunity knocks | Donte, DeVoe lead Clemson past NC A&T 87-63 | More work to be done in Clemson | Clemson is Atlantic Division Champions

The Tigers will face Miami in the December 2 ACC Championship Game, but not before squaring off versus The Citadel and South Carolina to close out the regular season.

The following is an edited transcript of Sunday's teleconference.

Opening statements: "Got everything graded and looked at. Just really a heck of a game. I'm really proud of our guys, this team. It's been awesome these past eight years. Every team has its own personality and identity. Our last couple of years we were probably picked to win the division and I don't think many picked us to win it this year, so I'm really proud of this team for coming together. They earned it. We're sitting here at 9-1 and we're excited to go represent the Atlantic Division in Charlotte.

"It was a hard-fought game yesterday. Offensively they averaged less than a yard per carry. That's all you need to know. We had two touchdowns off those turnovers. The interception by Van Smith was a sudden change. I thought that was huge, obviously. They missed a few plays. We missed some plays.

"Just frustrating in some areas offensively. We had 24 first downs and rushed for over 225 yards. You feel like you're going to get more for that production but at the end of the day we have to clean up our execution. We're second and goal on the one twice and we get three points. Obviously we put the ball on the ground another time. There were some basic things that hurt us. We'll keep grinding and keep at it. We had some mental errors where we missed some signals. Kelly was 20-of-30. The production on third down, the ability to run the ball against a good team ... those were positives.

"Special teams, I was proud of Alex Spence. He got back on track with kickoffs and he made a field goal, as well. I'm really proud of Ray-Ray and our punt-return team. We had three downed inside of the 15, as well. I felt FSU competed really hard and they made some plays. They had a chance to win there in the fourth quarter. Just really proud of our guys winning three divisions in a row and it goes hand in hand with beating FSU three years in a row.

"We're excited about this week, senior day and military appreciation day. Injury-wise, Tre Lamar was getting an MRI on his shoulder today. I don't have any report back on that. We had a couple of guys get banged up. Ryan Carter was out. He was good in the locker room last night but he'll be in protocol this week."

Q: You want to be cautious with some players. Any concrete plan on limiting them this week?

Swinney: "That's up to the trainers and doctors. I get a report every morning. I don't have anything to do with who practices. If they're in yellow, they don't practice. That's all based on what our doctors think. Really pleased with how a lot of guys stepped up for us. Jabril was gimpy, too. We were able to hold him and Dexter. We thought Kendall was going to be able to go, but he didn't quite feel good in warm-ups. It was good to see JD Davis and Albert Huggins step up. It was by far Albert's best game. Chad was in there and played well. Muse is working through his situation. A.J. Terrell got about 20-something snaps. We had several guys play big roles."

Q: You and Jimbo Fisher have a lot of respect for each other. He had a player who made a gesture about knocking out Ryan Carter on his way to the locker room after he was ejected. Do you handle that with Jimbo or do you just accept that he's handling it?

Swinney: "I think Jimbo will handle that. He knows how to run his shop. That's something that happened while he was in the middle of coaching a ballgame. I didn't see that. Someone told me about it today."

Q: Did you watch the Miami game last night? Your thoughts on them?

Swinney: "I did. I saw a good bit of it. They looked great. They're playing great ball. They're playing championship-caliber ball. They're physical and fast on defense, they're running the ball and they're playing well on special teams. They're well-coached. They're having fun, too. They've had a great year. I can't say enough about what Mark Richt has done down there. They're excited to win the Coastal. Both of us have some business to take care of before we see them."

Q: Talk about Senior Day this weekend. What do you like about your seniors?

Swinney: "When you've played the game for so long, there is some finality that comes with playing at a place where you've spent so much time. Some days are long but the years are really short. It's always a special time to see those guys. It's emotional because it'll be their last opportunity to play in our stadium. It's a transition time for them. You're a young kid out of high school and you look forward to playing in Death Valley. It's one of the reasons you come to Clemson. When that ends, it is something you have to come to grips with. For me, I just enjoy being able to show my appreciation for them and see their teammates show their appreciation."

Q: Jeff Scott said yesterday that y'all have yet to play a complete game on both sides of the ball. Your thoughts?

Swinney: "There's no question. Sometimes you get frustrated as a coach. You feel like you haven't gotten anything done and then you turn on the tape and realize that you have gotten a lot done. That's how critical a few plays are. It could be anything, turnovers, poor execution on a few plays. We have not played our best game. We have a lot of room for improvement. We are not a team that has peaked. We're still coming into our own. As our focus gets narrowed some, we can take another step from an execution standpoint hopefully."

Q: What do you do here now in practice with some players after playing three straight physical games?

Swinney: "At this point less is more. We are who we are. The focus needs to be on execution and getting guys healthy and making sure we're rested and ready to go. We will shorten practice some and cut the periods down some. We will take care of them and make sure they're getting their sleep, taking advantage of their stretching program, massages, Yoga program and we'll make sure they're as healthy as they can be."

Q: Talk about your offensive line. It gave up one sack yesterday. Are they where you wanted them to be at this point? Are you pleased with their progress?

Swinney: "I am. We came into this year really feeling like we could run the ball better and we have ... significantly better. So you have to give credit to the offensive line. That No. 91 for Florida State, he is as good as anyone we have seen all year. We held up pretty good against them. Kelly took a sack one time on third and three but that was on him. He should have gotten rid of it. I thought they competed well and controlled the line of scrimmage. Usually you win if you can run it and they cannot."

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