CLEMSON -- Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney addressed members of the media Tuesday at his weekly news conference, this time ahead of the Tigers' matchup with SMU in Saturday night's ACC Championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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The following is an abbreviated transcript of Tuesday's presser.
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OPENING STATEMENTS: "Good morning everyone. Always, always great to see y'all, but especially on this Tuesday. If I'm seeing y'all on this Tuesday, that means we're in the championship game.
"We're excited to be in the championship game again. It's a great venue. I'm proud of our team. We did not accomplish all of our regular season goals, but we did enough to be one of two teams out of 17 to qualify for a championship. I'm proud of that. SMU is 8-0 and we're 7-1. We're the top two teams. I'm proud of our uncommon consistency. This is our 10th time in this game in the last 16 years. I know we're supposedly a bad program now, all doom and gloom. I don't think we've gone back to back years not being in this game since 2013 and 2014. For all the things that have to change and why we're suppose to be like everybody else ... I'd say that's pretty good.
"We've got two goals left. That's to win the ACC and to win the closer. If we do that, we'll be national champs. We've worked our butts off. It's all about the postseason. That's what college football is all about.
"Congratulations to SMU. Congratulations to Rhett. We actually have the same agent. Both teams have earned this opportunity. It's a blessing to be in this game. Very few people get a chance to experience a game like this, so this is exciting. It's what we work all year for. This is a 17-team league, so I'm proud of our guys for putting themselves in this position.
"SMU ... they are what you perceive. Offensively, they are fifth in the nation in scoring. They are fast, explosive and play with a lot of precision. This is an old team. They're all graduates and seniors. They have played a lot of football. Their quarterback is a younger player and he has been a game-changer for them. Their running back went to the house last year on us at Miami. He went 80 yards. And they use him. They don't just line him up inside. They use him in the slot.
"Their quarterback is such a dynamic player. He's creative. He's dangerous running and throwing. It's a big challenge for us. They're a tempo team. They have a complete group of receivers. They can all run. They're all seniors. Their tight end is a good player. Offensive line? Same thing. They're all graduates except for one player.
"Defensively, they're stout and very similar to the group we played last week but bigger. They've got big ends. One is 295 or so. They play about six or seven guys in the front and they're very savvy on the back end. These are all third, fourth and fifth-year players. It's a really good group. They've had a ton of sacks, I think 37 on the season. They're not giving up a ton of points. I think they're 19th in scoring defense."
Q: Does SMU remind you of a college basketball mid-major team that's older and makes a run in the tournament?
SWINNEY: "No. I wouldn't call them a mid-major. They're a power 4 team that can compete with anyone in the country. They've got good players. We've started freshmen in the offensive line in national championship games. It's all about the players. But being experienced has certainly not hurt them. They're good and they're experienced. They've really put it all together across the board. They're well-coached, too."
Q: You have a lot of guys who were on this team in 2022 when you last won the championship. Does that give you an edge?
SWINNEY: "Nah. Cade was MVP of the game. But that doesn't matter now. It's all about how you play on the day you play."
Q: What was it like to see DeMonte Capehart back out there Saturday and how is he doing?
SWINNEY: "Happy for him to get back in motion. He's still working on his way back."
Q: Will R.J. Mickens be available?
SWINNEY: "I hope so. I hope so."
Q: Shelton Lewis back?
SWINNEY: "He's back. He looks the healthiest he has been since camp because he's been hurt all year. He's moving with some confidence. That's been good to see."
Q: What do they do so well defensively?
SWINNEY: "They're big, they use their hands well and hold the point well. They make you hold the ball a little bit. They have good technique. They're big, strong, physical, dudes who are hard to move. They fit you up well and tackle well. They're fourth in the country in rush defense."
Q: Can you take us through the emotions of Saturday after the loss and then knowing you were going to play in the championship game hours later?
SWINNEY: "Yes, incredibly disappointing. It came down to one play. We were in a position to tie it or win it. We had a mistake. We had plenty of opportunities in the game to win it and we didn't get it done. It was a great game. Both teams played very hard. It's very disappointing when you don't win that game because it's so important to everyone in this state. It hurts. It sucks. Later on that night, you find out you're in the championship game. And we earned it. It's not our fault our conference schedule ended two weeks ago. It was awesome. It went from being mad and disappointed to having another opportunity.
"People get disappointed when we don't win. Think of our how players feel. We're so invested in this. It's our life. When we knew we were going to play in the championship game, it was like the wind was at our back again. I started getting text messages from our players. They were so excited. At the end of the day, college football is about qualifying for the postseason. That's what people wanted and that's what they got. A few years ago Kansas City got into the playoffs as a wildcard but then won the Super Bowl. The playoff won't just stay at 12. There will be three-loss teams in the playoff, too. There will be a three-loss team win the national championship one year. It's a level playing field out there and anything can happen on any given day.
"Now we control our destiny. Man, let's spot the ball. Everybody is now zero-zero. You don't get a touchdown on the board when you show up in Charlotte. It's zero-zero. Nothing matters. It's no different than the tournament or the NBA playoffs. We're just thankful to have a shot. Now we have to win. We've earned that opportunity, but we need to win. I think SMU, though, should be in the playoff no matter what."
Q: Before the Miami - Syracuse game, how much as a staff did you talk about a contingency plan of preparation if you were to get into the ACC championship game?
SWINNEY: "Since we knew SMU was in the game, we did our normal breakdown. Our support staff is always a week ahead on that. We went ahead and did that as if we were playing in it. As coaches, though, we start on Sundays. I'm talking about just the support staffers (film cut-ups)."
Q: Tyler Brown's status?
SWINNEY: "He's back. He's back. He ran around a little last night. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are where we will get a true evaluation. Heck, I'd look good out there on Monday night. It's not a long practice and you're in a vest. We get a good head start on the opponent, but it's not an intense practice. Today and tomorrow are tough days. But he looks good on the hoof."
Q: Building off the emotional rollercoaster, what do you tell Cade coming off that last play on Saturday?
SWINNEY: "He's fine. He was excited to have an opportunity to play this week. That's football. You'll have bad plays. Michael Jordan, same thing. You just keep taking the shot. You just keep battling. Cade had two game-winning drives in a row. He was on his way to three. He just had a bad play, a bad decision. And he knows that. He'll learn from that. I know this; he's had a heck of a year. Him being the MVP of this game two years ago has nothing to do with this Saturday. He's certainly a better player than he was when we put him in the game that night. He's a much better quarterback."
Q: Does SMU's quarterback remind you of anyone you have faced this season?
SWINNEY: "Not really. He's unique. He's dynamic and can beat you a lot of different ways. He has a lot of different arm angles. He can find a little window to get a screen. He's a crafty, savvy, confident, player. They have run him some. I would anticipate they would try to run him a lot against us. We'll see how it goes. You have to be able to minimize their run game. It's probably the best one-two punch between him and that running back. The kid from Pittsburgh was dynamic, but he didn't run like this guy. These guys are two rockets."
Q: Does he scramble more to throw than run?
SWINNEY: "Probably because he's got elite receivers. They coach the scramble drill really well. And they get him out of the pocket a lot. It may appear to be a scramble, but it's really a design. He's got options. He's a good player. He hasn't had to run it a ton. They've handled a bunch of these teams well. They've had just a few close games. He hasn't really had to run like he needs to, but he can do whatever he needs to do."
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Q: What did you have to say to your defensive coaches and players about tackling after Saturday's loss?
SWINNEY: "We obviously missed a bunch of them. There isn't a bunch more to say. Turn on the tape. A lot of people have missed tackles against that guy. I give him more credit than I do our guys blame. He deserves a ton of credit. He's a great, great, football player."
Q: It seems like a smaller secondary this week. How does SMU attack your passing game?
SWINNEY: "A ton of man coverage. They challenge you. They can get pressure with their people up front. They'll mix it up. It's a ton of coverage. They track the ball well. The teams that have had some success on them have won some matchups. It's one-on-one most of the time. You have to have great collision balance, body control and timing. I thought we played really well at wide receiver last week. We won some matchups there."
Q: Did you get an explanation on the two replays the other day?
SWINNEY: "For what? For what?"
Q: From what they saw?
SWINNEY: "I'll let you put it in.
"Again, we had plenty of opportunities to win the game."
Q: Is there a level of sufficient accountability with officiating?
SWINNEY: "I don't know. That was the SEC. We have some accountability in our league. Al and I have had some conversations this year. You get a lot of, 'Yeah, we agree. We were wrong.'
"There's no public accountability. This ain't no hobby for us.
"It's a problem all over the country. This has been one of the worst years across college football ... really bad. It's like targeting. Some they don't even look at. Some, they make it up. So I don't know. It's a national problem. It really is. And it's on all sides. It's been a tough year."
Q: Are these rules issues? Is it human judgment?
SWINNEY: "It's both. It's both. You probably need full time people do it. These are big, big moments at this level. You have some unexplainable stuff. Any time you have people involved, you'll have mistakes, but it's like wow, we've seen some tough moments. There just isn't a lot of transparency. I would think you could ask any coach ... it's probably something we could all agree on. We wish we could have a standard, but we don't.
"The head (SEC) ref comes up to me the other day before the game. He tells me before kickoff, 'If your linebackers do this, it's delay of game.' And it's what we do all year. Now we have to scramble and I go into the locker room and talk to our defensive coaches and players. It's how they had called it in their league all year. That's not how we have seen it called in our league all year."
Q: Are you advocating for just one group of officials across college football - no league affiliation?
SWINNEY: "I think so. Sometimes people will start questioning integrity. People will say it's this league doing this or that league doing that. I think it should be just one national standard, one league (of officials). Steve Shaw is an amazing guy. He can figure it out. You'd have to have some commitment from all the leagues to orchestrate that."
Q: Do you feel like there are any adjustments you need to make in defending rushing quarterbacks?
SWINNEY: "Hopefully Peter Woods will hold on. We have to tackle. We need our guys to be better than their guy. Sometimes a guy is just going to win his matchup. There are always things you try to do, sure. No. 1, we have to tackle the guy. We've got to tackle."
Q: You guys still recruiting this close to signing day?
SWINNEY: "Recruiting never stops. It never stops. We're mostly done with this class. We're on to the next group. We'll sign a really good group tomorrow. We didn't have a lot of spots. We'll have some guys leave who want a bigger role. We don't anticipate any of our starters leaving. All of those things impact what you can do. We don't have a lot of flexibility right now within our roster. It'll be different next year for sure. We'll have to see if something unexpected happens. We love the class coming in. We feel we have met needs based on what's on our roster. We'll have to see next week on whether we'll stay active in this class."
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Q: Will you send Syracuse anything for beating Miami?
SWINNEY: "Man if we win the national championship, Fran Brown will be in the car riding with me downtown in the parade. Why not? You win this game, you get to be in the playoffs. If we win, anything can happen. I think we were the first 15-0 team. Maybe we can be the first three-loss team. Boy that would upset some people. If that happens, let's dream big. Why not? Fran Brown, he going to be riding in a convertible with me. Kornblut, I might even let you be on the stage with us. Yeah man. Why not? It's postseason. You don't have to win 12 more games. You just need a few of them. We'll give it all we've got. I promise you that."
Q: You think South Carolina gets in the playoffs?
SWINNEY: "I don't know. They're certainly good enough to play with anybody. The system is the system. I didn't make the system. If you're going to have a national championship, you're going to have to recognize the nation. It's the system we have. That's what people wanted. But they can play with anybody."
Q: Would you like a rematch with South Carolina if they were to get in the playoffs?
SWINNEY: "Let's do it. Let's go. Any round. Let's do the natty in Atlanta ... an all South Carolina natty. And that'll happen one day where you see rematches. It's the same thing in the NFL."
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