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CLEMSON -- Monday evening Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media in his weekly teleconference, this time to take a closer look at his team's come-from-behind victory over Syracuse on Saturday after the coaching staff's film grades on Sunday. Swinney also weighed in on his team's extended period of preparation for Notre Dame during this week's open date and much more.

*** There will be no Tuesday news conference this week. Swinney's Tuesday presser will resume next week (November 1).

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The following is an abbreviated transcript of Monday evening's teleconference.

OPENING STATEMENTS: "Super proud of our team. Just an incredible win. It's one for the ages, for sure. I'm proud of our never-quit attitude. We've made enough mistakes to lose a couple of games. We had four turnovers and a stop on downs, a scoop-six and down 11 in the fourth quarter and you still win. That's all you need to know about this team. I'm really proud of them. It's a battle-tested group. They just don't quit. We make it harder than it needs to be but to win a game like that is special. It's our third top 15 win this year. We have four road wins, too.

"We're the only 8-0 team in the country. Our open date is coming really late. We've gone 12 straight weeks dating back to camp. We've played six great, veteran, quarterbacks. Of our eight games, I think five of them we were their first loss. We're getting everyone's best shot.

"We are where we hoped to be. The open date couldn't come at a better time for us. We have to get back to the basics in some areas. We want to get a head start on Notre Dame, too. It's our last true road game. November is what it's all about. We feel like we're built for it. I feel like we have a shot to do some great things. The margin for error gets smaller, though, as the air gets cooler. Our fans were awesome Saturday. It was a very physical game.

"We rushed for 327 yards. We had the two bad sacks on our quarterbacks. Neither was on the O-line. I'm proud of our line. Shipley and Mafah were outstanding. We had 91 plays but a lot of missed opportunities, too. We controlled the ball but couldn't get out of our own way at times. We were very physical at receiver and tight end. Shipley has just been amazing. He had 242 all-purpose yards. He's relentless. Mafah is similar but also different. He's starting to come into his own. I love the combination of those two.

"Defensively, they won the day. If we don't shut them out in the second half, we probably don't win the game. After giving up 14 points, we shut them down the rest of the game. Five sacks was a season-high for us. They were 3-of-11 on third down. The interception to seal it was huge. We were much better than the Florida State game as far as our tackling. We have to clean up some things situationally, awareness-wise and positioning in our coverage. Hats off to the defense. They gave us a chance to win the game.

"B.T. is a weapon. What a game Aidan Swanson had. We had two punts and both were 50+ yarders."

Q: What is the schedule for the coaches and team this week?

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SWINNEY: "We got home around 7:15 last night, so that's a start. We are coming off of two weeks where we got home at 6 a.m. after a game. We have a chance to use this time wisely and recover some, because we have been going for 12 straight weeks. We'll practice on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday this week, but it's a later open date so we will work on Clemson, some basics, self-evaluate. We want to get a head start on the next game, too. We want to work on recruiting. Players will finish up on Thursday and have a nice break. Tuesday we'll go serve the community. It's huge for us. That's all they'll have on Tuesday. Wednesday will be meetings and practice and the same on Thursday. We'll have everyone back on Sunday."

Q: Can you elaborate on what your community service will be?

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SWINNEY: "I think half of our team will go to the AIM campus in Anderson. That's an amagazing organization. They do a lot of work in the community. The other half will go and work on a habitat home. When you have 135 players and staff, that's a lot of man power that can make a difference in a day."

Q: Cade had just the two completions but did a good job running the offense and did not turn the ball over. How did you evaluate his performance there at the end?

SWINNEY: "I was proud of him. The sack was really bad. He just hadn't played. He's a fast kid. He's always been able to get away with stuff like that. It was probably his worst play. We had an RPO and he should have run, but he triggered a hitch late. He had a couple of mistakes, but he settled us down. D.J. made three turnovers. I wasn't going to give him a chance to have four. When your ACE is on the mound, you have an expectation. Even the best of the best, you need to change it up sometimes. They weren't stopping us. We rushed for 327 yards. We were doing what we needed to do. We just couldn't get out of our own way. We got into such a hole.

"Cade did a really good job and made some good decisions and made some nice throws. He has great arm talent. The more he plays, the better he will be. We have a bright future with that guy. It's tough to go into a game down 11 in the fourth. He took care of the ball. He gave us a different spark. The guys responded. The biggest stat in that game is that there were no points off of turnovers on our defense. They got the scoop and score but that wasn't on our defense. We only had three offensive turnovers coming into the game."

Q: Coach Streeter said after the game that DJ might have been more timid during the game. Did you sense that?

SWINNEY: "He just had an off day. We have other great players including a guy like Shipley or Myles Murphy or K.J. and they might not have their best day. It's not magnified like the quarterback position. For whatever reason he just had a tough day. I know this; we're not 8-0 without that guy. He's still got 17 touchdowns and four picks. He has responded all year every time he has had a bad moment. I expect him to bounce back and go play his best game. Hopefully that's what he will do. We can all have those days. I've had bad days as a coach. I'm sure you've had a bad day in your job. We just have to focus and move on."

Q: Did you come out ok injury-wise?

SWINNEY: "We did. This time last year it was getting worse and worse. Every week we were just trying to figure out how to make it work. We're getting better and better. It's big for a guy like Xavier Thomas now to really have another week where he can work on his conditioning. We have guys beat up. We're getting better, though. As far as guys in the game, we came out of it in a good spot."

Q: You mentioned all the great quarterbacks you have faced. It also seems like you've faced some very strong defenses.

SWINNEY: "Absolutely. Wake, N.C. State might have been tops coming in, Syracuse was No. 1 in the league on defense coming in. Every week we've seen some good groups. BC is always tough. Florida State had a heck of a defense. We've seen a lot of different styles and flavors of the week. Our guys really have a lot to draw from in eight games. To be where we are, I am proud of our guys. It's a resilient bunch. We're not perfect in terms of how we have played. We still have a lot of room for improvement. When these guys put it together and get a taste of a complete game one time, they have a chance to be a special group. They really care and play hard for each other. They believe they're suppose to win and that's a huge part of it."

Q: Coach Streeter said you did more tempo when Cade was in. Any reason for that and is it something you will try more with D.J?

SWINNEY: "We wanted to get him into more of a rhythm. And we did some of that with D.J. We just couldn't get into a rhythm with some of the turnovers. We knew we could run the ball. We knew we could wear them down and I felt like we did that. They might make that play on Shipley on the 50-yard run in the first quarter, but they didn't in the fourth quarter. We just wanted to get in some tempo and limit them a little bit on what they could do."

Q: Malcolm Greene got to play nickel for the first time since the La. Tech game. How do you think he looked?

SWINNEY: "He did OK. Rusty. He got out of position a few times but Malcolm is active. He's a tough kid. It's important to him. He has a lot of passion for the game, but you could tell he hadn't played in a while. It was good to get him some experience. Definitely a lot he can improve on."

Q: Trevor and D.J. are very calm and controlled. Cade seems like he's quite emotional. Which do you prefer?

SWINNEY: "I prefer points and crisp execution. What that looks like to other people, I really don’t care. They have to be who they are. Cade can’t go be D.J. and D.J. can’t be Cade. They have to be who they are and channel who they are into crisp execution. Take care of the ball, play within the system and execute. We did some really dumb stuff. Everyone is different. I don’t need Wes to be Venables. I didn’t hire him to be Brent. I hired him to be Wes Goodwin. When I hired Tony, I didn’t hire him to be Chad Morris. We’re looking for production. We’re looking for guys to do their jobs. What’s the production? I don’t need Trotter to be Skalski. I just need him to be a productive player. That’s really it. Cade, though, is a high energy guy. "

Q: I'm sure you don't care a lot about narratives, but do you just hope people will appreciate how much D.J. has accomplished to this point?

SWINNEY: "I hope so but that's kind of his story right now because of all the stuff coming into the season. He didn't have a good day but he has played really well. There's no way we're 8-0 without him. He has been a great leader and has made plays with his legs and his arm. We don't have any control over that stuff, narratives."

Q: Have you made a decision on whether you're redshirting Collin Sadler or are you still playing it by ear?

SWINNEY: "We're still going to play it by ear with him and a few other players."

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Q: Do you still like the recent redshirt rule and has it worked out ok for you?

SWINNEY: "Yes. Cole Turner is going to be some kind of special player. We're trying to save his four games. He's someone no one really knows about right now. He's gong to be a heck of a player for us. It's fun to have that opportunity to be strategic. For some guys it keeps them engaged. In the past, sometimes players weren't as engaged as they needed to be. Now, guys know they can play a few games. Teams don't have to waste a year on a game or two games, which has happened at times in the past."

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