On Saturday, both Clemson and Oklahoma arrived in Miami in preparation for the Capitol One Orange Bowl that will take place on New Year’s Eve.

Here is what we heard from the players and coaches upon their arrival at the Fort Lauderdale Jet Center.

Both Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops were happy to land in sunny Florida.

“It’s beautiful and there’s sunshine. The people here are fabulous. It’s great and we’re excited about the opportunity,” Stoops said. “We turned up the heat in the indoor facility, but it’s a little different here though. [We put the thermostat] on as high as it would go.”

“It’s always neat when you come to the Orange Bowl because you don’t usually have a welcome like this. The guys are excited because they know we’re in the final four. We started the year with hopes to achieve this. To get on the plane today and know that it’s finally here, it’s finally game week, we had great preparation prior to taking a break for Christmas, then got refocused today. But to get on the plane and actually get here, you feel like now it’s time to go,” Swinney said.

Swinney was pleased with the focus and determination he saw in his players before they left for Miami.

“We had excellent meetings and practice back in Clemson today, and the weather was beautiful and around 80 degrees, so we actually practiced in the stadium

Swinney is also content with the heath of his team.

“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. It’s kind of what it feels like. Everyone’s excited to play and we’re in great shape physically.”

The Clemson seniors enjoyed the luxury of flying in first class, and offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain said he is already enjoying himself.

“I was able to stretch out in first class the whole way. Mostly seniors got to sit in first class on the flight down. We’re so excited about being in this playoff. We were just ready to land. It was the longest plane ride of my life,” Mac Lain said.

Although the Tigers are having fun, they know that they have a tough matchup ahead of them.

“They were very talented last year and this year they’re one of the final four teams in the nation. You don’t get voted into this deal, you earn it. They earned it just like we did. It will be a great, great matchup,” Swinney said.

“It will be a big game for my team and it’s going to be a big game for myself. I just need to do my part and make the plays that I need to make and tackle these great running backs,” Clemson defensive end Kevin Dodd said.

Clemson may have played Oklahoma last year in the Russell Athletic Bowl, but Swinney insists that this game brings many different challenges from last year’s game.

“They’re a different team; we’re a different team. They’ve had a great year; we’ve had a great year. Both teams want to win so motivation won’t be an issue for either team. It’s just going to be who plays well. It’s the little things…taking care of the ball, big plays, just finding a way to play a little bit better than your opponent,” Swinney said. “This is a fourth quarter game and we’ve just got to give ourselves a chance to find a way to win in the fourth quarter.”