CLEMSON | Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media Tuesday as part of his weekly news conference, this time to talk further on his team's third loss of the season while also looking ahead to more preparation this week ahead of Saturday's 3:30 p.m. matchup with Florida State (3-4, 2-2).

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Clemson (4-3, 3-2), a 10-point favorite over the Seminoles, has won five straight in this series.

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The following is an abbreviated transcript of Tuesday's presser.

OPENING STATEMENTS: "Injury-wise, it's well documented what we have dealt with this year. We hope we will have E.J. Williams, Rayburn and Joe Ngata back this week, which is huge. Not sure about Jake Venables. He will be close but we may not know until game-time. Kobe Pace will be out this week, in COVID protocol. I am thankful we got Shipley back this week. So we'll go with Shipley, Mafah and Rencher. Again, it has been a crazy year from an injury standpoint.

"I am impressed with what Florida State has done. They have improved. They started out 0-4. I'm impressed with their staff. They had a couple of heartbreaking losses but have played a lot better. Their quarterback has really settled them down. He is a very confident player. He's tough, a natural leader and he makes plays. He can flat out beat you. They are doing a great job schematically. He can just move. He's a great scrambler and has created a lot of explosives. This kid is dangerous. Their running game is leading the nation in rushing in October. They had 11 turnovers in the first four games. The last three? Three turnovers.

"Their defense is playing very well. They gave up some big plays early, but they have gotten better. No. 11 is probably the best defensive end we have seen, a great player. They are huge inside. They have changed what they do structurally over the first few games. A challenging group that is playing with a lot of confidence. They are way better than their record."

Q: You can tell Shipley wants to be that guy to help his team get back. Do you worry that he is pressing too much? Do you manage that component with some of your guys?

SWINNEY: "No, I don't think so. Shipley ... what you see is what you get. He is a great, young talent. He came back so fast and it was amazing. He worked so hard. He plays with heart, passion and toughness. He's like a blade of grass. Some of that is just him being a freshman and settling in. I don't want to change anything about him. I want him to be who he is."

Q: What have you learned from the buildup to this season and the way the season has unfolded?

SWINNEY: "Football is tough. It's a tough game. Sometimes you can have a year where you deal with a lot of craziness. I've never had a year like this where we have had this many injuries. I'm talking about players who are in our rotation and starting. This year has reinforced how hard it is to win, the little things. With us, the margin has been small. It's still right there, though. We have been in a position to win every game. We have an opportunity to learn from the struggle. We are teaching a lot of lessons to players who are going to be back here. It has been a challenge but you have to embrace it.

"You lean on the foundation. It's belief in yourself, routine, details, fundamentals, technique ... they're very important when the margin for error is small. In seven games we have started 43 players. We know what the problems are. We know what the problems are on offense. We don't need anyone to let us know. We're here everyday."

Q: It seemed like Tyler Davis and Tre' Williams pushed through a lot to play last Saturday.

SWINNEY: "There is no one who cares more than these players. Bockhorst, man, he gave every ounce of everything he had. E.J. Williams, same thing. He played hurt the first few games. We finally had to make him get the surgery. They care. It's important to him. They take pride in the paw and in this program. Tyler Davis was mad that he couldn't keep playing. We had him on a pitch count. He talked his way into working for about 15 plays.

"We have a lot of positives. We have a foundation here that is well-established. We'll get through it and it'll make us better. We'll be better this year, a lot of ball left. This is one season in the midst of a great journey, one of the greatest runs in college football history. There is a lot more to come. I am a lot better coach now than when I started. Our staff is better now than we have ever been. We'll look back and say this was a moment in the middle of a great journey. Hopefully I've got another 20 years or so. I'm only 51 now.

"You walk off the field and there are thousands of people saying D.J. stinks. That's great for that kid. You'll get way too much blame and way too much credit. As a player and a coach, you learn to embrace that. We won the national title and it took me a month to just read through the text messages. You lose one and you got five text messages ... your mom, preacher, wife, your fifth grade teacher. People have short memories. But hey, that's what makes this level so good. Sometimes you need to go through things like this to give you perspective for the future."

Q: What did you learn from Bobby Bowden in terms of consistency and longevity?

SWINNEY: "There are very few people who can do that long. It's hard. I've been blessed. We have had a lot of consistency and success. Have some structure that you believe in. Create continuity and then be passionate about the little things. We have been an incredibly consistent program. We are going to continue to be successful. I know some people have written our obituary but man, we're just getting started. You don't flinch. You don't get caught up on the outside. You get focused and stay focused on what matters. There aren't many programs out there that have done what Bobby Bowden did. Very few coaches, especially today, have longevity. They'll fire you. They'll fire you in year one and year two. You have to always be building. You're always striving and resetting."

Q: You want to coach 20 more years?

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SWINNEY: "How old is Nick Saban? 70? I have a long way to go to catch him. I know I'm not going to 90. He might go until he's 90. I figure I've got 20 more to go. We'll see what happens."

Q: Some of the mental mistakes and lack of confidence you're seeing, how do you get players through that to execute?

SWINNEY: "You have to keep swinging that hammer. You have to keep at it. You have to keep showing them, keep reinforcing what you've taught. Eventually it'll turn. They need success and that'll get us in the right direction. You have to correct and you have to challenge. And there are a lot of good things happening. It just hasn't happened collectively. We have not been opportunistic.

"There were eight plays in the game the other night ... we missed a post route, we throw the ball late. That's an opportunity. We get the ball down to the 25 and have a play action play and we flushed out quick, then forced one to the sideline. We score and then come back and have a 63-yard touchdown play dialed up but don't make the play. We have to be opportunistic because we don't have a lot of margin for error."

Q: How different do you have to coach a young team like this?

SWINNEY: "Very different because you're dealing with basics, especially some of the things we are working with at receiver. That's just where we are. Last year we had a fifth year guy and a fourth year guy at wideout and a quarterback who was the first pick in the draft. So those were different conversations. They're going to get it, though, because we've got good kids. Dietrick Pennington was going to have a chance to be a starter for us. What a talented kid he is. These young guys are special and are going to do a lot for us. We have some good things happening."

Q: Anything going on with Mukuba? He only worked for 12 plays the other night.

SWINNEY: "No, no. Jalyn Phillips has improved. R.J. Mickens has improved. Mukuba has a bright future ahead. I'm excited about what we're doing on the back end. Defensively, it wasn't our best game the other night but it was good enough to win."

Q: Has D.J. made some of these intermediate throws in practice? Is he missing a lot in practice?

SWINNEY: "It's not all on D.J. He has missed his share. We are not trying to create the illusion that he's up for the Davey O'Brien award. We haven't been consistent enough around him either ... anyway. The good news is where we struggled early running the ball, we have turned the corner there. And that has created some opportunities in the passing game. And no, it's not what I have seen in practice. We just haven't carried it to the game day yet. Some of that is continuity. D.J. has had three different centers. That has affected him some. But he'll be just fine."

Q: When you have been out and about, what's been the feedback from people in the Clemson community?

SWINNEY: "People don't make eye contact with me. It's like I've got the plague. I'm getting people dropping random letters in my mailbox. I'm hearing from people that I haven't heard from in a long time. I'm getting a lot of prayers. It's like you got a stink on you and no one wants to be around you. But we'll be fine. I promise you."

Q: How have you seen D.J. respond over the last couple of days since he was benched?

SWINNEY: "He's been great. He hasn't pouted one second. When he went back in the other night, we went right down the field and scored. We didn't get the ball back at the end. I was proud of how he responded. D.J. gets it. He's very self-aware. I promise you, he cares a bunch. He's got to get better and we all have to get better. He's going to have a lot more good days than bad days."

Q: What was Tyler Davis' recovery like?

SWINNEY: "I didn't expect him to be back now. I thought maybe Louisville was what I was hoping for or definitely by Wake Forest. Nothing surprises me with Tyler Davis. He is so passionate about playing. He and Bryan Bresee are the same way. Bryan is doing well, also. When I was in here last Tuesday, I didn't think he would be available (for Pitt). They came to me Wednesday night when I was setting the travel roster. They had a full-out campaign to get him on the plane ... the defensive staff, his father, the doctors. I'm proud of him. He has worked hard. They have him in a thing where the bicep can't extend fully, so that helps him."

SWINNEY: "I will say this. We know how much people care and you hate to disappoint people. Just some perspective here. We got home the other night and we learned that Lannden Zanders' house burned down. He was the only one in the house at the time. He sleeps with a fan on. He woke up when the fire department came. They turned the power off. He woke up and crawled and found his way out. They didn't even know someone was in the house. Y'all keep the Zanders family in your thoughts. Thankfully no one was hurt. Lannden said he thinks it came from a fire pit. It was a windy night. Just some perspective. We're so grateful that they are ok."

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