	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 8, 2017

Dabo Swinney

Greensboro, North Carolina

DABO SWINNEY: Proud of our team for how they finished last week in a really, really difficult game against a great team in NC State, a great environment, especially from our last outing on the road. Good to see us respond a little bit better. So just really proud of our team and the growth that I've seen in them. We're excited about this week. You know, our seniors are down to their last two games here at Death Valley, and it's a special place to play, and I know these guys are excited about the opportunity to compete for the division on Saturday against Florida State, which is pretty much kind of what we knew it would come down to, and then we've got our senior day next week.

It's a special time this time of year, and off to a good start with our practice this week. Got a really huge challenge with Florida State. This is as talented a team as you're going to play. Got great players everywhere. They've had some tough losses, but we don't have any illusions other than the fact that we're going to have to play our best four quarters of the season to have a chance to beat these guys.

Q. To look at how your team started 6-0 in the season and to have that loss to Syracuse and then get back to winning, just what you can say about how you saw your team respond to the adversity and to that loss, what they learned from it and how they got back on the horse pretty quickly.
DABO SWINNEY: Yeah, well, I just think that's just ultimately what really matters more than anything is always how you respond to something. It's never really what happens, it's always how you respond to what happens, and that's in life and the game of football, everything. We've been a very consistent program for many years now because of kind of what we call the windshield mentality of, hey, you put everything you've got into it each week, it's the biggest game of the year. You know, fortunately most of them have gone our way, but occasionally, hey, it doesn't. If you don't have the right mindset, it can be a stumbling block for you. If you do have the right mindset, it can be an opportunity to grow, and that's kind of, I think, why we've been able to be very consistent; just having that mindset and not getting too high with a big win or too down with a tough loss and letting that define you or destroy your season. Just let it develop you.

So I think that's a choice. Every time you have any type of setback, it's a choice, and same thing when you have a lot of success. It's a choice on how you process that and how you refocus on what's next. That's the culture that we've tried to create here, and this is a very young football team. I mean, we've got six seniors. Our juniors are coming off their -- they went 14-1, 14-1, so they haven't had a lot of so-called failure, if you will, and so when you've got a young team, you're always coaching, and as a coach, you're always anxious, how are these guys going to respond, and are they listening. How's the leadership going to step up? So I've been really proud of this team because I've seen a lot of growth in them over the last few weeks, and I think that's, again, just a good sign of the type of young men that we have, our coaches, and just the culture that we have. You know, we responded, we self-evaluate, we go back to work, and you try to go win the next one.

We've got eight wins, and we're excited about that. But we want to get nine. Can't get 10 until you get nine, and that's our focus.

Q. NC State has played you close the last couple seasons. What you can say about the climate of the Atlantic Division which is supposed to be yourselves and Florida State but obviously many teams have found ways to improve over time.
DABO SWINNEY: Yeah, those other teams, they're not getting that memo. This is a great conference, top to bottom, and I've said it many times, I've been kind of beating that drum for the past few years. All you've got to do is look at the -- I don't know, what do we have, we're like 9-3 in bowl games last year, post-season success and the amount of teams that have been bowl eligible. This league is incredibly difficult. I mean, every single week, anybody can beat anybody. I mean, it's not Clemson and Florida State; anybody in this division can beat you. I have such great respect for the job that Addazio is doing at BC, such great respect for Dino and what he's done at Syracuse. I mean, Dave Doeren has built a great team and program at NC State. I mean, man, they've got -- they're a handful, Louisville. They've got the Heisman Trophy winner over there. They're a nightmare to get ready for. Wake Forest and what Clawson has done, I mean, putting them back and making them bowl eligible. I mean, just the consistency that you're seeing in this division is incredible. Obviously Jimbo, I mean, he's as successful a coach and program as there is in college football. I know they haven't had the year they wanted to have this year and sometimes you've got to look beyond just the scoreboard, but man, they're Florida State, and he's an unbelievable coach. I mean, this is a really, really difficult league and incredibly difficult division. But you know what? Isn't that the way we want it? To me that's the way you want it. You know, for years everybody talked about how bad this league was and couldn't win postseason and couldn't win out of conference. It's not really a discussion anymore. Anybody that really understands and pays attention, this league is top to bottom incredibly strong, and if you don't show up, I don't care who you are, you've got a chance to get beat. Our guys understand that, and it's just a bunch of good coaches. I'm proud of this league.

Q. What's your assessment of how your run defense is playing as you get ready for that Florida State running game?
DABO SWINNEY: Did you say our run defense?

Q. Yeah.
DABO SWINNEY: Well, I didn't think we were great last week. Man, give them some credit. I thought their -- they had a heck of a group, their offensive line, their backs. Quarterback is a great player. We didn't fit some things very well. They do a good job with the stretch, and Florida State, that's one of their main plays is running the stretch and the counter and quick toss and inside zone and just a lot like NC State. So we're going to have to play a lot better. We've got to fit things properly. We've got to leverage the football. This is a group that if you don't contain the ball, they get outside of you, you're in trouble. So we've got to set the edge, and backers have to do a good job of fitting it properly and playing over the top when they're supposed to play over the top and not running underneath, and then same thing with our secondary. They're a big part of our run game.

It just all ties together, but we've been very good from just a season standpoint, but we've still got a lot of room for improvement, no question about it, getting off of blocks, finishing tackles. We missed a lot of tackles last week. For us to continue on the path we want to be on, we're going to have to get a little better.

Q. I talked to you on Sunday, you were getting ready for Florida State; what did you see since Sunday on the film because I know you just started when I was talking to you, you just started looking at them. How dangerous are they as a 3-5 squad?
DABO SWINNEY: They're very dangerous. I promise you, there's no coach that's going to turn on the tape and be excited about playing Florida State. They've got players everywhere. I mean, they're very experienced up front on the offensive line. These receivers are massive. I mean, No. 18, Tate, he's 6'5", 225, 230 pounds, great ball skill guy. No. 89, he's 6'3", 220 something. That No. 8 is a great player. He's not as big, but man, he's a heck of a playmaker for them. I mean, Akers is considered the best back in the country coming out of high school, and man, he's as advertised. He's thick and strong, averaging five and a half yards a carry, very good player. Their tight end is an outstanding player, Izzo. They use him well.

And then the quarterback has just gotten better and better. He's not a true freshman anymore. He's gotten better and better as the year has gone on. They've got a tough situation. They lose probably a Heisman candidate with their quarterback, and now you've got a true freshman in there, and they've lost some close games. But they've been in position to win, and that's because of the type of talent that they have. But this kid has really improved. He can push the ball down the field. They do a great job with their screen game. They'll max it up and take some shots. But they're built by running the football. That's who they are. They can run the ball, and you're in trouble. It's going to be a huge challenge for us. And then Jimbo is a great coach. They do a good job of just formationing and creating leverage, whether it's in the passing game or the run game. They do as good a job as anybody we play schematically year in and year out.

And then defensively, they've got, I don't know, one, two, three, four, five, six -- they've got about nine or ten guys that started for them last year a number of games. A bunch of experience. They've got some freaky dudes in the secondary led by that No. 3, Derwin James. He is unbelievably long and athletic, and they're excellent up front. No. 9, Josh Sweat, is a great football player. 91 is as good a D-tackle as we've seen. 99 is a great player. They've got a bunch of guys. So all their guys are back at backer, and just a really good team. I mean, they're just typical Florida State. Only thing different with Florida State this year is just their record. You know, that's it.

But the personnel, the talent, the athleticism is just typical Florida State. They've had three games that have been kind of the last play, and like I said, a true freshman quarterback in a difficult scheme. He's had to kind of learn on the ropes. But this is an outstanding group, well-coached, and it's just typical Clemson-Florida State match-up, two good teams, and it's going to be a tough one.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297