CLEMSON | Tuesday morning Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney met with members of the media as part of his weekly news conference, this time to look ahead to Saturday's matchup with division opponent Louisville (4-4, 2-3).
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The Tigers (5-3, 4-2), a four-point favorite over Louisville, will face the Cardinals at 7:30 p.m. ET in a game televised by the ACC Network.
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The following is an abbreviated transcript of Swinney's Tuesday presser.
OPENING STATEMENTS: "This is another team that's way better than their record. This is a 4-4 team, but they are a handful. Very well-coached. Satterfield has his guys playing hard. They do a good job with their schemes. Their quarterback is another great player. Seems like every single week I look up and we're playing a freak show at quarterback. He's got a great skill set, an excellent runner and an excellent passer. He's accurate. He will take shots. They want to run the ball, too. There are six teams in the country averaging 200 yards rushing and passing and Louisville is one of them. They lead the country in plays of 70 yards or more.
"They have good backs, good receivers, their tight end is their leading receiver and they use him in a lot of different ways. It starts with them running the ball, though. They do a good job of splitting you and dividing your defense. It'll be the biggest game we will have had from a communication standpoint. We have to win the line of scrimmage ... simple as that. We can't let them get their run game going. They can really create explosives.
"Defensively, they have changed a little bit. Early part of the year there was a lot of coverage. Lately, it's a lot of pressure. Same thing ... a really good group and well-coached. They have some veteran guys. No. 22 is disruptive. No. 9 ... he has played 100 games and is their heart and soul. They have some big, disruptive guys up front.
"It's always a tough place to play. They've got good players across the board.
"Injury-wise, I don't really have an update. We have some guys who are day-to-day. No one I can say is out, no one you don't already know about. Hopefully we'll get some of these guys a little bit better and ready to go."
Q: Is Malik Cunningham more comparable to Jordan Travis or Shrader at Syracuse?
SWINNEY: "He's a stronger runner than Travis. He's more elusive than Shrader. He's dangerous and has more experience as a quarterback. This guy has played a lot of football. He's an accurate thrower and can push the ball down the field. He understands their scheme. That matters. He has a really good feel for defensive football, structure and coverage."
Q: How much does Tyler Davis add to your front from a leadership and experience standpoint?
SWINNEY: "A lot. He came here as a smart player. That's why you saw him play right away as a freshman. He has a great toolbox as far as his recognition and run techniques. A lot of knowledge. It makes a difference. He knows the game."
Q: Your take on your defensive front and how it handled Jordan Travis?
SWINNEY: "That was the best part of the game for me. Six sacks on that guy, getting him down, that's a day's work. He is a really good player. We just played with a lot of discipline in that area. We missed several sacks up at Pitt. It was good to see us make the type of improvement we needed this past week."
Q: Don't you have to preach don't-over-commit this weekend with Cunningham?
SWINNEY: "Yes. And we've had a lot of experience this year. They have their own nuances within their scheme but there are some similarities with the other teams we have faced. They're always trying to divide your defense. Guys are getting hit backside and you have to play the boots, too. You can't over-pursue. You have to keep him contained. You have to keep him in the pocket. You can't let him just be a free runner. If you do let him out, you still have to have someone playing the backside. It only takes a little crease. It will be a challenge for us. We have to win the line of scrimmage and be very disciplined."
Q: What can you point to on the road as far as struggles and things your team isn't carrying over?
SWINNEY: "First of all we played UGA and had a critical mistake. Same thing at N.C. State in overtime. We had a critical turnover and critical penalties. We are much better than we were then, for sure. We get up there at Pitt and were in position but were not opportunistic. For us, the foundation, our effort has to be amazing. We have to take care of the ball and cannot have stupid penalties. We need to be opportunistic offensively. We didn't do that the last time on the road. We have to run the ball and make routine plays."
Q: Tony said yesterday that they had 11 different versions of Cover-3. Do you feel like D.J. and the offensive line are ready to face that?
SWINNEY: "It's nothing they haven't seen, but they still have to do a great job. Louisville has every cloud, every roll and coverage, everything you can think of in their scheme. It depends on how the game is going and how we run the ball."
Q: With improvement in the running game, are you different some schematically?
SWINNEY: "No. Just better execution. We've always run the zone. We're just doing a better job in the early part of the year."
Q: Will you keep Justyn Ross outside more going forward?
SWINNEY: "We'll keep moving him around. He's really done that his whole career. One of his biggest plays in his freshman year was from the slot. We will formation him where we need him to be. Beaux Collins has really come on. Getting E.J. back is big. Ngata has been pretty consistent for us. We missed him some as well and didn't have him for the Pitt game. It gives us some flexibility with Ross. And he had a heck of a game last week. He's a guy you'll continue to see us formation him where we need him to be."
Q: Talk about having so few linemen to work with on offense in practice and the challenges that presents.
SWINNEY: "Our twos get as much time as the ones. We have ten guys but it's more about the snaps than the amount of time. This time of year you start to cut things a little bit anyway as we go into this ninth game. Running back has been the challenge. We don't have many. We've been getting our emergency running backs ready. And that's top secret (smiling)."
Q: Is Kobe Pace back this week?
SWINNEY: "Yes. He is back. That is a big shot in the arm for us."
Q: Does E.J. Williams have a brace on now?
SWINNEY: "They have a special hard shell thing that fits him perfectly. He hasn't had any issues with it. The knee is what took him out."
Q: What have you seen from Goodrich to make the jump he has?
SWINNEY: "Just maturity. A lot of guys won't hang in there and develop and stick with it. They would be somewhere else now. That's what I hate about this world we live in now. That's what you love to see in Mario. He has had a heck of a year for us. He had a great game last week. He is a physical guy. He has contributed a lot on special teams. I am really proud of him. I really wish we could have redshirted him as a freshman. He is serious about becoming a great player and a student of the game. I like his commitment on and off the field. He's available, too, because he was hurt and that affected him from a developmental standpoint. He just couldn't play for a stretch there. He has put it all together now."
Q: How ready are Tchio and Mayes if you need them to play?
SWINNEY: "I think Mitchell is ready. He is a redshirt freshman. Both are. Mitchell has grown. We've just been in a lot of close games and haven't had the opportunities to sub as much. I've got a lot of confidence in Mitchell. He will be a good player for us. Same with Tchio. He is big and physical. He just has to work to be more detailed, better practice habits. He's where Rayburn was last year. Now? Rayburn is coming on. The light has come on. He's at a different level now. That's what I hope happens with Tchio because he can be a good player. He's got to be ready. He went in last week for one play and wasn't ready. You have to get ready and stay ready. He has the ability to be a really good player and he will be."
Q: Have you had any marketing bites on your Ship Happens t-shirt?
SWINNEY: "Sounds like a good one to me. Ship happens."
Q: Capehart was dressed out last week. What's his status for you now?
SWINNEY: "First opportunity he has had. He's just now getting cleared to get back going. He's just trying to work his way back into the routine of things and get himself in a position to be ready. He has missed so much time, all of camp and most of the season. He has been back in practice for a couple of weeks. Glad to get him back."
Q: Will you have a meal with B.T. Potter this week?
SWINNEY: "Nah. I'll leave him alone. He'll be fine. He might do something different. He might have eaten the wrong cereal or something last Saturday. He came right back last night and was fine. Unfortunately at that position, you can have a day like that. He has gotten it done for us all year. He had his first off-day last Saturday."
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