Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney hosted his weekly press conference on Tuesday to discus No. 6 Notre Dame, ESPN’s College GameDay and much more.
However, the day kicked off with both soccer head coaches Mike Noonan and Eddie Radwanski speaking to honor the 100th anniversary of Historic Riggs Field that will take place on Friday when both the men and women’s teams play home games. That was followed by a statement from Swinney and his wife, Kathleen, about what their All-In foundation is doing for breast cancer awareness month.
Here is what we heard:
The Swinney’s have donated over $1.7 million through their All-In foundation. Around $280,000 of that has gone strictly to Breast Cancer Research.
“If we can go to Mars now, we can find a cure for breast cancer,” Swinney said.
As for Saturday’s 8 p.m. contest with Notre Dame, Swinney had high praise for all aspects of Notre Dame’s team.
“They’re disciplined, they’re physical, they’re fast, they’re well-coached. Again, offensively they’re really complete. They’ve got an excellent offensive line. They’ve got great skill. They just keep coming up with quarterbacks,” he said.
He also said Notre Dame’s defense is very similar and comparable to his own.
“They’re a lot like us. They’re aggressive. They force the issue with the way they play, physical up front, really big and thick guys inside that gobble up people,” Swinney said. “So this is one of those games that really comes down to the competitive match-ups. It’s just who wins the plays consistently.”
Swinney also joked he thought having the Pope in the U.S. was a little bit of an unfair advantage, but Clemson will be fine because they have Sports Information Director, and Notre Dame graduate, Tim Bourret.
“It’s a little unfair that they brought the Pope into town just in time for the Clemson game. I think that’s kind of a low-blow. But we do have Tim Bourret, and Tim Bourret is 2-0 lifetime in these games,” Swinney said.
Clemson players have a lot of respect for Notre Dame’s program, but they are not intimidated by it.
“It means a lot because we don’t play them every year. Outside of that, I feel like we’re on the same level. Everyone talks about the prestige that comes with it and all of that type of stuff because of Notre Dame and the history that they have, but I feel like Clemson has the same prestige that comes with it as well. I’m not taking a back seat. We’re not taking a back seat just because it’s Notre Dame. We’re just as prestigious as Notre Dame in my eyes. To me, that would be taking a back seat to put them ahead of us like that,” said linebacker Travis Blanks.
Offensive lineman Jake Fruhmorgen, who feels fine after suffering from an injury against Louisville, agrees that Saturday is an opportunity to show the nation that Clemson can be successful against established teams.
“I think this is a big game to show that we can play the top teams in the country at a high level,” Fruhmorgen said.
With the amount of attention this game is receiving, it is only natural that a little friendly trash talking occurs, however, some of Clemson’s players aren’t too fond of that aspect of the game.
“I’m not much of a talker as you can tell, but I mean actions speak louder than words though, so I’m not worried about it,” wide receiver Charone Peake said.
However, offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain loves it.
“I love to trash talk. I really think that’s the game within the game. When you can get into people’s heads and psych them out, it’s going to be a long day for them,” Mac Lain said.