PHOENIX, Ariz. — Even after Oklahoma took the football and drove it 75 yards down the field to open the game in last week’s Orange Bowl, Clemson stayed loose.

It’s a trait they pick up from their head coach. Dabo Swinney was so loose, he called a fake punt early in the second quarter that called for his punter to throw a pass to a 330-pound defensive tackle down the sideline, and it worked.

“We’ve been loose all year,” linebacker Ben Boulware said during Saturday’s media day session for the Monday’s National Championship Game in Glendale, Ariz.

Christian Wilkins hauled in Andy Teasdall’s 31-yard pass to set up the Tigers’ first touchdown. After that they rolled to a 20-point victory.

“I would say Coach Swinney is a little reason why we are so loose,” Boulware said. “The majority of it is because of our preparation and our confidence in how we plan for our games. I think when people are more uptight, it’s not because they’re scared of their opponent, it’s more because they’re not confident in their own ability.

“We’ve prepared a lot for 14 straight weeks, that’s why we’re so confident in what we do. We know how to go out and work.”

With just two days remaining before playing in their biggest game of their careers against No. 2 Alabama, Boulware says the Tigers don’t look at it that way. That’s not how they got to Arizona. They got here by playing confident and playing free.

“We don’t really tense up for games or get too uptight, that’s just how we are,” Boulware said. “We’ve been the best team in the country since day one. We’ve known that, everyone else has known that and we know how much we’ve grinded and how much work we’ve put into this.”

Clemson’s looseness has the helped ride a 17-game winning streak that is tops in the country. It has vaulted the program to No. 1 in the country and now it has them one win away from winning the football program’s first national title since 1981.

“We’ve just played loose all year. We’ve never really backed down or been scared of an opponent or a brand-name team because we know how good we are,” Boulware said.