Dabo Swinney ended Clemson’s final on-campus practice in pads this season by drawing a line in the sand, albeit one that did not necessarily need to be drawn.

His football team is not headed to Arizona for leisure time. It is not going for all of the bells and whistles of a bowl trip.

His team is going to handle business, plain and simple.

“They had the bowl experience in Miami,” Swinney told reporters after Thursday’s practice. “This is a championship experience. This is truly a business trip.”

Swinney says he stuck to the script in Thursday’s practice, even after the NCAA announced it would suspend the 20-hour limit on weekly practice time while school is in session on Clemson’s behalf. The restriction did not apply to the Tigers’ national title opponent since Alabama’s spring semester does not begin until Wednesday, January 13—two days after the teams will play.

Even with the change, Swinney remains adamant the players and coaches still believe in the plan leading up to Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship.

“I wouldn’t have really changed anything with our practice schedule yesterday,” he said. “Today didn’t change for us at all. We’ll just continue on with the plan that we have.”

As the Tigers prepare for a battle royale with powerhouse Alabama, one of the focal points of practice has been the improving health of defensive end Shaq Lawson. An eternal optimist, Swinney remains confident his star defender will be able to play in his final game at Clemson.

“He’s shown good improvement each and every day,” Swinney said. “We’ve still got several more days. Hopefully, he’ll just keep getting better. I’m still optimistic that he’ll have a chance to play.”

While the present offers a unique opportunity for Clemson to win a national championship, Swinney and his assistants have gotten a glimpse of the future as several future Tigers have joined the team at practice as midyear enrollees.

“To see these midyears running around out here, it’s been great,” he said. “For them to come out here and kind of get a little bit of coaching is really good.”

Swinney said his team is “ready to get on the plane” and head to Arizona for Monday’s matchup with Alabama. The Tigers will have a light in-stadium workout on Friday morning before leaving campus at around 12:30 to begin the trip across the country.