Notes from Dabo Swinney after Wofford win
Here are some notes and quotes from Dabo Swinney after Clemson’s 59-14 win over Wofford:
– Super proud of our guys. This was obviously a team that didn’t match up with us on paper, but I’ve been in a lot of those games over the years and you still gotta play well. The team was unbelievably focused and had great energy. The offense set the tone right out of the gate. Incredibly efficient.
– November football - It’s a little crisper in the air and things kind of ramp up a little bit and I think you saw that with our team. That’s four games in a row that we’ve played well. Today was a day where a lot of history was made.
– Back-to-back games with no turnovers. This is the first time Clemson has ever had back-to-back 600-yard games on offense. It’s the fourth 600+ yard game this season, which has also never happened. We’ve never scored 45+ points four games in a row.
– Trevor Lawrence’s efficiency rating is higher now than it was this time last year. For an offense that has so-called “struggled” this year, it’s pretty dadgum amazing what this group has done, especially when you talk about running the football and spreading the ball around.
– Travis Etienne has just been the catalyst. He’s set the tone for us the last month. When you think of all the great running backs that have come through here, he’s played for just over 2.5 years and he broke James Davis’ school-record for rushing touchdowns (48). Davis did that in four years. We try to get Travis more touches, but he rips off 80-yard runs. He tied CJ Spiler’s touchdown run, which I never thought would ever get broken.
– The focus was to have a clean execution and just dominate. I thought we were able to do that.
– Really proud of the defense and how consistent they’ve been all year long. Holding an opponent to under 300 yards in a game for nine straight games hadn’t been done since 2011 Alabama and 2006 LSU.
– On challenging Travis Etienne after North Carolina:
“Usually when you have your foot in someone’s rear, that’s not comfortable. So yeah, he didn't like that. Almost everybody likes a little bit of sugar. But he needed it, and he got it. He’s had a great year obviously, but he really played a bad game. Sometimes great players need to be challenged. Great players respond. Average players pout. He responded. Great players want to be coached. Great players want to be held to a standard. Hadn’t had to do that very much with Travis. He’s unbelievable, but he needed it. That’s four weeks in a row he’s been amazing. It’s a long season and there’s a lot going on. He’s been a great leader, too. That’s been fun to see. He’s really never had to lead, but he’s been a great leader for Lyn-J Dixon and Chez Mellusi and Mikey Dukes.”
– On backups:
“We had a lot of guys in there. To see those guys get in there is awesome. I think we played 100-and-something guys. That might be a record - two games in a season playing over 100 guys. It was the two veterans that kind of busted. The first touchdown run was K’Von Wallace’s responsibility. Nolan Turner got a little nosey on the second touchdown. That kid was fast and could really run. That was kind of the example of getting a little complacent in that situation. You gotta sub. You gotta play a lot of guys. This was a really difficult scheme, so there was probably going to be a play or two that got away.
“Jake Venables is really starting to hit his stride. He’s really hitting his stride after battling a few hamstring injuries. LaVonta Bentley got thrown out of the game (targeting), but he’s going to be a special player for us.”
– Good feeling during the week that you guys had the appropriate mindset?
“Absolutely. It was a good week of preparation. We just don’t make it much about the opponent. That’s why we’ve been successful. We have a daily focus and we’ve been that way for a long time. That’s why we’ve been consistent. When you start worrying about who they are playing and what their record is, you start going up and down. It takes great leadership and culture and that’s what kind of sustains us around here. This was a week we talked about being enthusiastic about improving and playing well.”
– Tuesday night’s CFP rankings being a distraction?
“Not at all. We’ve got a little saying around here: ‘some horses start fast, some start slow. But the thoroughbred is great at the final poll.’ That’s the only one that matters. We ain’t worried about all that stuff. At the end of the day, somebody will cross that line first and we are just running our race. We are trying to run our race and be the best version of us. What matters is that we beat NC State.”
– Potter’s missed field goal:
“He kicked the ground. Had to bring in some sand because there was a big ol’ divot. The grass was kind of chunky and he got his cleat stuck in the ground. Good to see him come back and hit a clean one.”
– What can you say about Trevor Lawrence’s consistency over the last four games?
“He’s been consistent all year, not just the last four games. His efficiency is higher now than it was last year. He’s had about eight bad plays and people just can’t let it go. They just can’t let it go. They can’t forgive him. He’s human and he made a few bad plays this year and for whatever reason that’s all anyone wants to talk about. I’m super proud of him. He’s played great all year and is a good reason we are 9-0… For every bad play he’s had, he’s had 50 great ones.”
– Isaiah and Travis racing against each other:
“They’re unbelievable. I can’t wait to watch them run in the combine, whenever that time comes. Those guys are gifted. Travis is so explosive. He’s 0-60 MPH. Isaiah is just smooth. It doesn’t look like he’s running and he’s just smoking. All those guys like to compete whenever we do run, especially in the summertime. When you see a guy that is 230+ pounds and can run like Isaiah, it’s unique. I haven’t been around very many guys like him. Isaiah is unique because he can play so many different positions… he’s become a great preparer. Unbelievably consistent.
– On Mario Goodrich not playing:
“He was late to our pregame meal last night. He was in the dog house a little bit and just didn’t play him. This ain’t the time of year to not have the right urgency. Everything matters. He’s a great kid, great player, but just has to get more serious about the little things.”
– John Simpson:
“We held him. He was dressed and ready, but he was battling a sore ankle. Actually played last week and he hurt it two games ago. Could’ve played today but just held him.”
-- Xavier Thomas was ready to play and is chomping at the bit to play, but he was held again for the third straight game.
– How important was it to keep starting offense on the field through the first half and a little bit in the second half?
“We knew that’s what we were going to do regardless of what the score was. We like the rhythm that we have and have good momentum going. There was certain things that we just wanted to get done. Sometimes you get in games like that and you want to get a couple things on tape and there’s a couple things you want to try and set up for later. So it was important that we were able to play that half and start well in the third quarter.”
– First long run he ever saw Travis break off?
“It was in camp. To be honest with you, he was a b-back. He played in the option in high school and he was a b-back a lot of the time. Kind of puny when he got here. Not a very imposing guy, big ol’ braces on his teeth. Thought maybe he’d redshirt or something. Then we get into camp and first day in full pads on day five, he broke a run it was like, ‘woah.’ Then for the rest of camp, it didn’t matter what group he was with, every day he would break a run to the point where you’re saying, ‘this guy is unbelievable.’ He really wasn’t very developed physically yet. His lower body now is more powerful. He’s not even close - that guy three years from now, when his upper body really fully matures, he’s going to be unbelievable…
“I’ve never had a guy like him that has such collision balance. The ability to just run through tackles, yards after contact. He’s just so hard to tackle. He’s got that Spiller gear to take it the distance. He’s kind of thunder and lightning. He’s a combination of both. He’s matured so much in the passing game. Had never caught a pass and now he’s so confident because he’s thrown a pass and he’s catching a pass, he’s starting to really enjoy the diversity of his game. He actually said he wanted to go in and punt today. Told him we’d hold that off for another time.”
– Travis said you got after him for two weeks after the UNC game:
“It was a long two weeks. It was unfortunate for him we had an open date. It lingered for a couple weeks. Again, just wanted to make sure he understood what the expectation was. Everybody’s got to play to a standard and you have to prove it every week. Again, he’s been amazing.”