PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. — Ahead of tomorrow’s College Football Playoff semifinal against No. 3 Ohio State at the Fiesta Bowl, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and the second-ranked Tigers have prepared the same way as they do for each game — with purpose.

Swinney believes that preparing with purpose brings about a sense of urgency, that sense of urgency leads to attention to detail, and that it all culminates in precise execution on the field.

Therein lies Clemson’s formula for excellence, which Swinney thinks is vital to success.

“We all know the magnitude of the moment in the game,” Swinney said. “You have to prepare for every opponent and respect every opponent, but you have to have a formula of preparation and a formula of excellence. For us, it’s preparing with purpose every day.”

For Swinney and Clemson, preparing with purpose means being being fully committed on a daily basis to being the best that they can be, whether it’s on the field or off of it.

“It’s always committing to doing the best you can do,” Swinney said. “That’s all you can do is be able to look in the mirror at the end of the day and know that you control what you control, that you did the very best you could do.”

On the field, that type of desire and effort to perform at the highest level is an essential part of being a great team. But as he readies his team for games, Swinney also emphasizes the necessity of pairing that effort with sound technique.

“From a football standpoint, it’s not just great effort,” Swinney said. “It’s great effort with an emphasis on technique. You can run around and give great effort, but if your technique stinks, you’re not going to have good execution.”

The little things such as technique are even more important in games of the magnitude that the one tomorrow carries.

Thus, paying attention to the small details and preparing with purpose is all the more important.

“We all know when you play teams like Ohio State, the margin for error gets really small because they have great players and great coaches,” Swinney said. “You just don’t have a lot of room for error.”

Clemson’s formula for excellence remains the same regardless of the opponent.

If the Tigers have prepared with purpose for Ohio State, then they will have a chance to excel when the ball is kicked off at 7 p.m. tomorrow night.

“It’s a game of effort, but it’s technique, it’s how you do your job,” Swinney said. “It’s being fully committed to being the best that you can be and doing your best each and every day, each and every play.”