Dabo Swinney on FSU: 'I’ve had my butt beat down there many times'

On the death of Tajh Boyd’s father:

"First of all, just want to offer my sincere condolences to the Boyd family. Sure, most everyone has heard about the passing of Tajh's dad. I've got a long relationship with the Boyd Family. Heart just breaks. Life is hard. These are things that we all deal with in our lives, but it doesn't make it easy. He's like a son to me. My heart is heavy because I know what he's dealing with. Just ask for the Clemson family to pray for the Boyds."

On dealing with what the 2020 season has presented the team:

"Oh, it's no question the most challenging season, unchartered territory every single day, but you know, I just embrace the challenge. It's something that everybody's dealing with. I always say, it's like playing in the rain, if it was only raining on one sideline, we'd have a problem. You know, everybody's dealing with the same challenges between everything out there, and injuries and things like that. I'm proud of our team.

On the ‘day-to-day’ health guys:

Swinney says at this point it’s - “Who's available and let’s go play. We are hopeful. We are really trending in a positive direction. We are trending in a good direction.” Mentioned Ruke Orhorhoro as an example.

On who is available for the FSU game:

"Other than (James) Skalski and Frank (Ladson) everyone has a chance to play."

On where the team is currently:

“We are in the hunt for the league. That’s what it’s about for us. It’s the best of one-- every day."

On dealing with the mental toll that COVID-19 has placed on the team:

"Yeah, we've had several speakers, several guys that have Zoomed in throughout the fall. We had speakers in fall camp, we've had speakers throughout. We had Sam Acho last week, we've had Steve Young, we've had multiple guys that you may know, or you may not know. And so we've done all that stuff. The biggest thing, it comes down to you know us, here, in our daily interactions with them.”

“Our guys are fortunate because we get to do something that we love to do, even though there's isolation and there's just fatigue, when it comes to looking at a screen and all that stuff-- online classes, and then there's just a lot of fatigue. That's probably the case for everyone.”

“For people who don't have the resources here, the fellowship that we do get to have it takes a toll. I think from a mental standpoint, I worry about a lot of young people out there-- the challenges that they're having with isolation and all this stuff. The guys are doing a good job. Again, it just comes down to our daily interaction with them. Just have an appreciation for the opportunity that we have and enjoying each day. Focusing on what we control. Not getting distracted by what we don't control, or worrying about things that we have no control over. Let's just enjoy each and every day that we get. I think our guys have done a great job of that all year."

On playing as 35-point favorites at FSU:

"I’ve got all the respect in the world for Florida State. I’ve had my butt beat down there many times— and here as well. I don’t care what their record is. These guys are on full scholarship and are highly recruited guys."