Tanner Muse took Dabo Swinney’s challenge to dominate Florida State seriously.
He recorded his third interception of the season and ended Florida State quarterback Alex Hornibrook 62 consecutive pass attempts without an interception in second-ranked Clemson’s 45-14 win Saturday at Death Valley.
Clemson’s defense allowed just 252 total yards to the Seminoles, the sixth straight game it held an opponent to under 300 yards. That’s the first time that has happened in a season since 2006.
“Coach Swinney challenged us to really dominate the game,” the safety said. “He said it had been a while since we dominated a game like we did today. We took that as a challenge from him and tried to do our best.”
Through his recovery from a hamstring injury last week, Muse still found a way to remain a leader and helped his teammates prepare for an important division matchup. The veteran stated that he led the defense the same way.
“I try to challenge my guys and hold them accountable,” he said. “I think that’s the main thing, extra film, extra stretches. I challenge them all the time, week in and week out.”
Even through all the hard work and victories, Clemson (6-0, 4-0 ACC) fell in the polls, and Sunday LSU jumped the Tigers in the Associated Press Poll moving Clemson to No. 3. The Tigers remained No. 2 in the coaches’ poll.
Muse says the Tigers are not worried about any of that.
“I wasn’t surprised. This happened before. It’s not really a big deal,” he said. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter to us. You go from one to two, you’re still one of the four. At the end of the day, it’s all about how the end game works.
“That doesn’t really surprise me with how they do the polls. I don’t really know all that goes into that. I think we definitely show that we are one of those teams right now, but we have to continue to keep doing it.”
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