Dabo: Time to sprint to playoffs
After preaching from the same script through 10 games and achieving rare results, coach Dabo Swinney tweaked his sermon with all the chips on the table.
Instead of the “one-game, one season” approach that launched Clemson to consensus No. 1 in the polls and the top of the College Football Playoff rankings, Swinney acknowledged what’s at stake and embraced the opportunity to win a national championship.
“The biggest thing for us that I’m excited about is that we’ve got 18 days left with a chance to punch a ticket to the college football playoff,” Swinney said Tuesday. “You talk about a fun time. You’ve got to frickin’ embrace it. You can just smell it, because you work all year long and now you’re right here.
“Where we are right now 18 days away, man, we’ve got to maximize each day,” he said during his weekly media briefing. “We have got to have a great day today. Let’s just have the best Tuesday we’ve had all year. We need to play a great game at home this week.”
Wake Forest would complete the home schedule on Military Appreciation Day and Senior Day, ordinarily emotional occasions. For 20 seniors and those underclassmen considering an early exit for the NFL, the day might be for poignant reflection. Left guard Eric Mac Lain admitted he might run down the hill for the last time “crying like a baby.”
But a game at South Carolina and the ACC Championship follow, so all the goals papered to the walls at the West End Zone are at stake.
“When you have 18 days you can’t afford to waste a day,” Swinney said. “We need to really put the hammer down and put our best foot forward each and every day. It’s not a time to grow weary. It’s a time to grow stronger and to accelerate to the finish line, not cruise.”
Swinney insisted it was not a change in approach, not a curveball.
“It’s no different than we talked about two weeks ago – destinations,” he said. “The finish, we can see it. We want to sprint through it. We can’t waste a step. Each day is a step. There’s 18 days left. We can’t waste a meeting. We can’t waste a practice. We’ve got to have a sense of urgency to the ‘Nth’ degree.”
Managing success becomes a larger part of the equation. Swinney believes in the team’s leadership.
“I hope guys understand that goals beyond Clemson are based on what you do on at Clemson,” he said. “I think we’ve got a committed group of guys. If we are who I think we are we’ll show up.”
Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said his guys experienced a dose of humility at Syracuse where Clemson went in a 28-point favorite and won by 10. Venables said there were correctable moments, but there’s enough concern that Swinney dialed up the fresh approach.
Among the multitude of milestones at stake Saturday are Clemson’s first 8-0 conference record, the program’s 700th win and a record 43rd win by the seniors.
At no level does Swinney feel pressure to win this game or any other.
“It’s not pressure. This is a game,” Swinney said. He tells players, “Understand that through this game you have a chance to bring some joy to people who really have pressure in their lives, who really have problems.
“What kind of pressure do I have?” he said. “This is a game. It’s fun. There is absolutely no pressure being the No. 1 team in the country. It’s a whole lot of fun. And we’re going to try to stay there as long as we can.
“All we’re going to try to do is get to that College Football Playoff.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Dabo: Time to sprint to playoffs."