Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media on Tuesday for his weekly press conference as he previews Saturday’s NC State game, which will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C.
Here is Swinney’s opening statement to the media:
“This is a football team in NC State that I’m really impressed with. Watching them on tape, I think Coach Doeren has done a fantastic job of recruiting and getting his philosophy and system in place. It is just easy to see from my perspective because obviously I watch them very closely each year. I see the improvement in their team and they believe in what they are doing. This is a well-coached football team in all phases. You have to play them smart, you have to play them hard and you have to play them with confidence. A big part of that is because they have 18 starters back so this is a veteran football team that is sitting at 5-2, playing at home, a sellout crowd and a top-rank team coming in there. This is a great opportunity for NC State, and we know we are going to get the best they have. This is a big challenge for us when you really sit down and look at them.
“Offensively, they are all over the place as far as what they do … formations, shifts, motions, alignments and personnel groupings. They are kind of BC type. That’s how I could describe them as far as what they want to do with the presentation of their offense, but they have a better passing game.
“The quarterback is a really good player. He has only thrown one interception on the season. All the play action, the pop passes and the screens, and they have a great power running game built with speed sweeps, jets, options and all kinds of stuff coming off of it. They do a really, really good job in creating advantageous plays for themselves. It is a very big disciplined game for us in just being able to line up. It is very similar to when we were play BC in that regard.
“They are a run-first, bloody your nose kind of team. That is what they want to do. This a game in the trenches, and we will have to play great inside and we have to an outstanding job of containing the perimeter because they do a great job of getting outside. This a really good challenge.
“When you look at them, they are averaging five yards per carry, per rush. They have been very effective. They have run the ball like hundred more times than they have thrown it. They are second in the nation in time of possession, which tells you how they have been able to sustain drives. We are first in the nation in three-and-outs. This is kind of a clash in that regard. We have been a team that has been able to get off the field and they have been able to stay on the field so a big contrast there so that should be a good matchup.
“Their quarterback is big and strong. He is doing a good job taking care of the ball. They do involve him in the running game. He has been very efficient. You can’t one-arm this guy. He is probably 240-plus bounds. He is a big, big guy. He has made some really good throws.
“The passing game, the leading receiver is their fullback and the second leading receiver is their running back and the third leading is their wideout, 85. This kind of tells you how they are built and what they do. They are a tough team to stop. They have a good scheme, big strong offensive line, four out of the five starters back, the tight end is back. They have a little freshman in there, No. 7, who we recruited, who is electric. He has gotten better and better as the season goes on. They have involved a little more each and every week.
“Defensively, they play hard, they play physical and they play tough. They are where they are supposed to be and they do not make lots of mistakes. This is a well-coached team. Defensive line wise, they are active, disruptive. They have eight starters back on the defensive side so again there are a lot of starters over there. These guys have done a great job in my opinion each and every week.
“On special teams, they are sixth in the country on punts, 10th in the country on kickoff returns and 11th in the country on punt returns so this is a complete football team that is playing with confidence. And again, it is a tough place to play. We all know that here. We have great respect for NC State and their environment there is one of the toughest places to play that we have in this conference. It is one of the better places that I have been to. They do a great job supporting their team and we know they will be jacked up for the Tigers to show up.
“For us it is just about having a great week of preparation and really getting dialed in. This is a game of the trenches and a game of precise execution. This is a team that can take advantage if you are not where you are supposed to be.”