FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Before No. 1 Clemson arrived in the Miami area on Saturday, it practiced first.

After all the players and coaches returned to Clemson late Friday night, the Tigers held practice in Death Valley before departing for Fort Lauderdale.

“It was great. Really really really good. Good meetings,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said after the Tigers’ landed. “We met at nine this morning and everyone was early and they were dialed in and ready to get to work. We probably had one of the best practices we’ve had all year. It was a good Monday-type practice for us.”

Offensive guard Eric Mac Lain said practice ran smooth after taking a couple of days off for the Christmas Holiday.

“Today was really good – a lot of high energy,” he said. “You expected it to be a little sluggish coming off of break and guys coming back from their families, but today was great. Guys were flying around and we’re excited to get after it.”

Tigers are in good health. Swinney said his team comes to Miami in good shape from a health standpoint.

“This is like an opener all over again. It’s like coming out of camp. Camp’s over and you’ve got 10 days to kind of get them fresh and ready for the opener,” Swinney said. “It’s kind of what it feels like. Everyone’s excited to play and we’re in great shape physically.”

Scott is 100-percent. Clemson wide receiver Artavis Scott spent the better part of the last half of the regular season banged up. The sophomore had some damage to his knee, though nothing serious. His knee was scooped following the Tigers’ win over North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game.

Swinney said on Saturday, Scott will be ready to play in the Orange Bowl on Thursday, and it 100 percent.

Scott earned All-ACC second team honors this season after leading the Tigers with 84 catches for 804 yards and five touchdowns. His longest touchdown was a 51-yard reception in the Tigers’ win over Boston College on Oct. 17.

How does Clemson prepare for success in bowl games? Clemson has won three straight bowl games, dating back to its loss to West Virginia in the 2012 Orange Bowl. Since then the Tigers have knocked off No. 7 LSU, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 24 Oklahoma in its last three bowl games.

“We know how to prepare for these games,” Clemson defensive end Kevin Dodd said. “It’s all the same, we’re going to do our ‘Mental Monday,’ ‘TANOGAW’ Tuesday, and ‘Working Man Wednesday.’ It’s a pleasure to be in this situation, but everything is going to go the same.”

Defense will be ready? Dodd understands how good the Sooners are on offense—averaging more than 50 points per game the last seven weeks of the season—but he says they will be ready for the challenge in the Orange Bowl.

That’s good news for a Clemson defense that has slipped somewhat coming down the stretch as Syracuse, South Carolina and North Carolina were able to make plays and rack up yards against them.

However, Dodd says the last three weeks have been good for the defense.

“We’re ready. We just kill ourselves sometimes and I know it sounds touché, but we know our problem,” he said. “We just need to play four-complete quarters.”