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CLEMSON | Tuesday morning Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney met with members of the media at his weekly news conference, this time to discuss injuries, another week of preparation and of course rival South Carolina.

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The Tigers (8-3, 6-2) opened Sunday as a 14-point favorite over the Gamecocks (6-5, 3-5). Over the last 48 hours the line has been holding steady at 11.5 points.

The two teams will meet in Columbia on Saturday in a game set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET, televised by the SEC Network.

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

OPENING STATEMENTS: "We finished our home schedule undefeated. We're excited about the state championship being back in play. It's a longstanding tradition in college football. It will be a great game and a great environment.

"This is a good team. They are playing physical, with a ton of effort and it's a reflection of what Shane Beamer has done in a short amount of time. They are 5-1 at home. They have battled every week. What's impressive is what they have done in the fourth quarter. They have competed. That says a lot about what coach Beamer has been able to do. They have found a little bit of an identity.

"Their quarterback, No. 15, has settled in and has settled them down. He has good confidence and poise. He throws the ball well. They have found the best formula for them to be successful. Man, they're running that ball. They have four running backs and they have all had their moments. They're incredibly physical players. No. 11 signed with Florida State and played linebacker. He plays running back like a linebacker. He's very physical and is averaging 6.2 yards a carry. They have another back who led their conference in rushing last year. Their receivers are emerging. No. 6 has become a playmaker and they get him the ball in a lot of different ways.

"Defensively, early in the season they were doing some things structurally where there was some confusion. Since the Tennessee game they have settled in on what their identity is. That is a reflection of a great coaching job. It's a very good group up front. No. 1 is a projected first-round draft pick, No. 6, No. 99 ... they're good players. No. 15 is another one. They have settled in at linebacker and in the secondary. Look at what they have done the past few weeks and they've improved. They've been opportunistic and they've come together as a team.

"It is critical that we take care of the ball in this game. We're excited about the challenge. It's also Thanksgiving and we all have a lot to be thankful for."

Q: You're preparing for a game now and you've got some conference stuff still unsettled. Is any of that addressed internally?

SWINNEY: "You can't worry about it. You can't control it. We've done all we can. We can't waste any energy focusing on that. We just need to focus on trying to win the state championship. We have given ourselves a chance to win the division."

Q: What does it mean to be able to play this game, just to be able to get back into this game after what happened in 2020?

SWINNEY: "I have a great appreciation for rivalry games anyway, growing up in Alabama and spending 33 years there. I lived the Alabama - Auburn experience. That's just a way of life. This is a great rivalry and a historic rivalry. It means a lot to the people in this state. It impacts everyone. They're going to talk about it at church, dinner, Thanksgiving and it's just a part of the DNA of this state. It's fun to be a part of something like that. It's better when you win, that's for sure."

Q: Do you feel like you now have more chemistry up front offensively?

SWINNEY: "Oh yeah. We were excited about getting Will Putnam back last week. They're all freshmen and sophomores with one junior, but they're all more experienced now. Mason Trotter and Hunter Rayburn are sophomores but this was really their first time playing. Walker Parks has had just one bad game this year and that's because he only had one practice in a two-week span. He has been very steady for us. Jordan McFadden is an all-conference player. We have been really fortunate that he has been able to stay on the field for us. He is by far our best player up front.

"You look at our youth at running back and they're playing with more confidence, too. We've done some things at tight end, too, that has helped us. But yes, our offensive line is more settled than at any other time this season. They have a big challenge this week."

Q: How often do you feel like you and South Carolina compete directly in recruiting?

SWINNEY: "Not very often. Earlier when I got here, we had more competition but not now. We're very different. If you love Columbia, you're probably not going to like Clemson and vice versa. They offer different things. We both have the same issues, too. This is a small population when it comes to football players. Atlanta has more prospects than the entire state of South Carolina. Throw in position need, academics, fit, all that stuff. The pool gets even smaller. When you're in a state like this with no pro sports and you have a big rivalry, a lot of kids grow up one way or the other. If a kid grew up and he's Clemson and we offer him, it's an uphill battle for them. And vice versa. Every now and then you have a situation that can go either way."

Q: How disappointed were you when you found out last year you weren't going to get to play them?

SWINNEY: "We were disappointed because it was going to be a home game. It is what it is. Both leagues made their decision. It didn't make sense to me. We had to go all the way to wherever last year. We went to Notre Dame but we couldn't get on a bus to Columbia. It felt like there should have been some out-of-conference exceptions. It was disappointing because it means a lot to the people in this state."

Q: Earlier in the season you were talking about lapses in execution on offense, keeping things basic. How much have you been able to add recently?

SWINNEY: "Yes. This was the best tape to grade. This is the way it is suppose to be. Maybe it's not always clean but execution-wise, targeting with our hands, fundamentals, hands in the right spot, it's been better and we have done more. You're going to get better through failure and mistakes. There is no greater teacher than experience. You can prepare and prepare and prepare but until you get game experience and the game slows down for you, it's hard. The game has slowed down for some of our guys and it'll pay huge dividends for us as we go forward in the next few years. We've got some young players who have taken some lumps. Our execution and precision, everyone being coordinated, have really gotten better."

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Q: Does some of that speak to D.J. Uiagalelei pre-snap?

SWINNEY: "Oh yeah but post-snap is where most of his improvement has come."

Q: There are a lot of guys on your team who have never been in this game. How do you think they approach something like this?

SWINNEY: "We have played on the road several times this year. We haven't played a complete game on the road this year. I'd like to see us do that this weekend and that's what it will take. This is game No. 12, so they know what to expect. The main thing is to focus on what we can control. You prepare them for the noise and stuff but it still comes down to doing your job with great fundamentals."

Q: Could E.J. Williams be back this week?

SWINNEY: "Not sure. He's day to day. Last night he was with the trainers. They wanted to see where he is. We'll know more tomorrow. Joe Ngata won't be back this week, but he's definitely better."

Q: Looking at the tape, are you seeing things different from this year's South Carolina team comparatively to those from years past?

SWINNEY: "They have some of the same guys. They're just older and more mature. They're playing with a lot of confidence. We've seen some good teams over the years and some teams that were in transition. This is a good team."

Q: You have won six in a row and before that you lost five in a row. What did you see as the difference?

SWINNEY: "Turnovers. We turned it over 15 times to their three (during the 5-game losing streak). The last one in 2013, we had six turnovers that night. In a game like this, that'll beat you."

Q: You have always preached importance of playing well without the ball as a former receivers coach. What's your take on how Dacari Collins blocked and played without the ball Saturday?

SWINNEY: "Awesome. I made a big deal about it in front of the team yesterday ... being a complete player without the ball. Beaux, too. They did a great job. Big runs come from great effort on the second level. Backs don't need much if you can just cover people up. You need to play with toughness, especially against people who press you. Dacari and Beaux ... the game has slowed down for them. Dacari hit a wall, slowed down and we got him through it. We had seven scholarship receivers out last week, so we need those guys to be good players."

Q: Do you have new install with your running game or do you tweak more at this point?

SWINNEY: "We've always had some 12 personnel stuff. We're primarily an 11 personnel team. That's not going to change. We'll get into some 13 stuff in short yardage. We just feel good about our guys and the development there. There is install every week. That's why spring and camp is so important because you're building a foundation in your system. Week in and week out you tweak some things but you're still within your system. As guys learn our system, it makes sense to them. We always have some package stuff that is relevant to what game we're in. With improvement from Sage Ennis and Jake Briningstool and with where we are with our personnel (at WR), we want to make sure we have answers."

Q: An update on Troy Stellato?

SWINNEY: "Still limping. They're calling it a bone bruise. He's just limping around."

Q: Was he in line to play a lot?

SWINNEY: "Oh yeah. He would have played a good bit. We had a plan to play him in these final games. He just planted wrong in warm-ups and came down on his heel wrong. Danny Poole came to me and said that Stellato would be out. We had the same thing happen to Sam Cooper one year down in Athens. Troy can hardly walk. It's hard to play receiver when you can't walk."

Q: What have you seen from Gamecock QB Jason Brown?

SWINNEY: "I'm impressed with him. I had never heard of him and didn't know where he was. He has done a nice job. I think I saw him against Texas A&M and he did some good stuff right down to the last play. You just see what they like about him. He has taken advantage of his opportunities. He has good poise and can throw the football. He has extended some drives for them. He's doing a really good job for them."

Q: What was your message to your staff last week leading up to Wake? You said afterward that you challenged them.

SWINNEY: "That's my challenge every week. I felt like we were going to have to do our best job. That was a really good football team and they challenge you schematically. Our staff did an awesome job. We set the tone every week and I wanted to emphasize that."

Q: What is your relationship like with Shane Beamer?

SWINNEY: "Great. I have known him for a long time. I have always had great respect for him and that will not change. A lot of people hate me and they have never met me but hate me because I wear a paw on my shirt. Just because someone wears a logo doesn't mean I can't like them. Shane is a great coach, a great man, I love his family and his father. I have always had a great relationship with his father. I compete with a lot of friends. When he was at South Carolina as an assistant, I saw him a lot. I got to know him way back then when he was at Mississippi State and UGA. We stayed in touch when he was at Oklahoma. His son was a huge Clemson fan. I can't wait to remind him of that. One year Shane was at Oklahoma but he wanted a Clemson jersey, so I sent him some stuff. He has a beautiful family."

Q: Can you relate to what he is doing now at the start of his tenure in Columbia? It sounds like he wants to make that his only stop. Do you see some similarities there?

SWINNEY: "I'm not close enough to what he's doing to answer that but I think he is doing a great job with his team, trying to establish core values and it's not easy to do that. He has a clear philosophy and a vision for how he wants things to look. That's not easy. There are tough decisions along the way, setbacks, but he is a positive guy. He just keeps looking at it as half full. And that's what it takes"

Q; How did Justyn Ross' surgery go?

SWINNEY: "Great. Clean. It was a very simple surgery to put the screw in there. He'll be fine in a few weeks. Maybe (he can play in the bowl game). We'll see how quickly he recovers. So that's possible."

Q: Do you know what Braden Galloway's future plans are at this point?

SWINNEY: "Graduating. His intention was to graduate and move on. He has not indicated to me that anything has changed there."

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