CLEMSON -- Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media Sunday evening in his weekly teleconference, this time to take a closer look at his team's 30-20 win over N.C. State upon further review. Swinney also discussed injuries, a week of preparation ahead and of course the Tigers' opponent next Saturday - Atlantic Division member Boston College.
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The following is an abbreviated transcript of Sunday evening's teleconference:
OPENING STATEMENTS: "Great game last night. Proud of our team. Back-to-back wins over ranked wins. We still have a lot of potential ahead, a chance to improve a ton. Our best football is ahead. I love the energy that our guys had. They fought to the end and got better as the game went. Just a great, great night.
"Offensively we won the line of scrimmage. No turnovers. No sacks. We did a good job on third down and in the red zone. D.J. had another outstanding game. I'm so proud of how everyone is competing. We finished the game. We need to turn a couple of those field goals into touchdowns. We dropped a potential touchdown and had a snap issue which cost us 10 yards. Still, a lot of good things.
"Defensively, I didn't like how we started but I loved how we finished it. We held them to 34 yards rushing. That's their fewest against Clemson since 2001. The two turnovers were huge. We had young guys step up. We still haven't had a complete unit on that side of the ball (injuries). Early, the targeting was a tough break for us. We gave up a busted touchdown. They had three trips to the red zone and got two touchdowns. We'll continue to clean up some things in practice. I feel like we won that game with what we did in practice last week. Really proud of our defense. We allowed 279 total yards against a really good offense.
"We have to go on the road now and play a team that plays really well at home and a team that has a lot of conference now after beating Louisville."
Q: How important was it to see DJ follow up his performance at Wake against a defense like N.C. State's?
SWINNEY: "That's what good players do. They have consistency in their performance regardless of who they play against. It was a big night for him. He'll watch the tape and see two or three more plays he could have made. He puts a lot of stress on defenses with his legs. You can see his arm talent. There's no part of the field that he cannot attack with his arm. His confidence, his leadership, it's contagious. I'm proud of him. I say it every week. We just have to keep moving forward. The game has slowed down for him. He has a nice feel for our offense. He just makes plays. It's been fun to see him each week just get better and more confident."
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Q: You said last night you were hoping things would check out today with Bryan Bresee. Any status on his health?
SWINNEY: "Everything was good again today. They will check him again tomorrow morning. He'll be day-to-day until they say he can go full speed. As long as things keep trending in the right direction, we are heading in a good spot."
Q: One of the next steps for your offense as a whole is cutting down on plays that get you behind the chains, especially on third downs.
SWINNEY: "We've had some critical penalties. We felt like we had a great play call on the play where we snapped the ball early, so now you're 10 yards there. We had 25 negative yards and 10 came from that play. We'd like to have none. Definitely we'll continue to clean up any negative plays. I am pleased, though, on how they protected our quarterback."
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Q: After watching the film, how do you feel Bryn Tucker did while in for Walker Parks?
SWINNEY: "He did OK. He didn't handle the twist well one time. He did fine. It was good to get him in there."
Q: How often do you jump in there and suggest plays like you did on the bootleg last night?
SWINNEY: "I've done that my whole career. There's never been a year where I haven't been involved in play-calling.
Q: How many times a game (do you call plays)?
SWINNEY: "I don't know. I've made a lot of calls over 14 years. Some good, some bad. Just always trusted my instincts when it comes to those things."
Q: Last night you said you were proud of your staff and that they were growing and learning. How do you grade how your new coordinators have done through the first five games?
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SWINNEY: "I give them an A. We're 5-0. We haven't been perfect but the objective is to win the game. We've come up with a crucial stop when we've been able to have it. We are really settling in and growing. It's our whole support staff. We have a lot of moving pieces in our support staff. They're doing a fantastic job week in and week out. Everyone is really invested. Sometimes you make a bad call and you don't get hurt with it. Someone makes you look good. Sometimes you make a perfect call but you have a bust. Those guys have done a great job. What I see during the week, our structure, our communication ... a lot of positives with those guys."
Q: What did you see of Andrew Mukuba before the ejection, given all the time he has missed?
SWINNEY: "He did well. He's a baller. He's one of the best players on this team and on both sides of the ball. Very natural, instinctive, football player. Obviously we hated that he had to go out. We were able to grow Toriano Pride and I'm proud of how he competed. I thought he came in and grew up a lot, which is a real positive for us."
Q: What happened on the botched snap?
SWINNEY: "We just snapped it early."
Q: What's your assessment of Adam Randall through the first few games he's played?
SWINNEY: "It's been good. He hasn't had a lot of opportunities yet, but he will. He had an unbelievable week of practice last week. Just a great week. He's finally got his legs under him. He's ready for prime time. There's no doubt. There will be more to come for that guy, for sure. He's doing well."
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