BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi addressed the media on Sunday afternoon during the ACC Championship head coaches teleconference call.
Winner of the Atlantic Division No. 2 Clemson (12-0, 8-0 ACC) plays Coastal Division winner Pittsburgh (7-5, 6-2) on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on ABC.
The primary teleconference takeaways from each head coach are below.
Swinney
— Said offensively it was probably Clemson's best performance of the year and defensively its worst of the year.
"Last night was a night where our defense needed our offense."
— Said the offensive balance was awesome. No sacks. Strong in the red zone. Dominant performance.
— Swinney was asked about the defensive performance on Saturday night. His summarized response in full is below.
"Really just a poor night, man. Awareness was poor. Several busts. Missed alignments. Missed tackles. Poor technique, didn't do a good job challenging the receivers. For whatever reason, it was one thing after another. Not anywhere near our standard defensively around here. Bad news is we played our worse game defensively, and the good news is we are better than that, too. Just some basic things we didn't do right, and also they (South Carolina) had some wrinkles and we didn't adjust well as coaches.
"And to you people who suggest it felt like a loss, y'all need to check yourself too. I've been here 16 years and for all those people out there who want to complain about five wins in a row and by winning by three touchdowns, man that's shameful. I just want to win by one more point. If that ever gets to where that's not enough, it's time for me to move on to somewhere else.
"That's a lack of respect for our program and a lack of respect for the effort that these players and coaches put in. I hope you write that.
"The senior class has won 52 games and we've got people complaining. Give me a break.
"I'm going to say it one more time: we've had eight 10-plus win seasons, we're 12-0. Third time in the history of this school we've won five state championships in a row. And when that's not enough for some people, that's sad. That's sad.
"I ain't ever going to apologize for a 21-point win over our rival. And winning five straight games over our rival.
"There's been some articles pushed my way and some comments, I'm not gonna stand for that. Our program is not going to be like that. Our players work too hard. The goal is to win, period. I don't want to ever be a program -- ever -- that doesn't appreciate winning.
"Just look around college football, there's a lot of people that would love to have the program that we have here, I can tell you that.
"12-0 ain't good enough? Then it's time for me to seek other places. Make sure you get that."
— Said the offensive interference call against Amari Rodgers was a tick-tack call. Called it a judgment thing. Said it is what it is.
Narduzzi
— Said some of his guys were probably looking ahead to Clemson in Saturday's loss to Miami.
— Said the result from two years ago doesn't affect this game.
— Said Swinney is not only a football coach but a business man. He has all the tools he needs to win games, like slides. Said he's sort of doing it the "Saban way" in building Clemson a powerhouse.
— Said "he'd like to be like Dabo some day." Thinks he's done things the right way.
Dabo Swinney sends threatening message to fanbase
Winner of the Atlantic Division No. 2 Clemson (12-0, 8-0 ACC) plays Coastal Division winner Pittsburgh (7-5, 6-2) on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on ABC.
The primary teleconference takeaways from each head coach are below.
Swinney
— Said offensively it was probably Clemson's best performance of the year and defensively its worst of the year.
"Last night was a night where our defense needed our offense."
— Said the offensive balance was awesome. No sacks. Strong in the red zone. Dominant performance.
— Swinney was asked about the defensive performance on Saturday night. His summarized response in full is below.
"Really just a poor night, man. Awareness was poor. Several busts. Missed alignments. Missed tackles. Poor technique, didn't do a good job challenging the receivers. For whatever reason, it was one thing after another. Not anywhere near our standard defensively around here. Bad news is we played our worse game defensively, and the good news is we are better than that, too. Just some basic things we didn't do right, and also they (South Carolina) had some wrinkles and we didn't adjust well as coaches.
"And to you people who suggest it felt like a loss, y'all need to check yourself too. I've been here 16 years and for all those people out there who want to complain about five wins in a row and by winning by three touchdowns, man that's shameful. I just want to win by one more point. If that ever gets to where that's not enough, it's time for me to move on to somewhere else.
"That's a lack of respect for our program and a lack of respect for the effort that these players and coaches put in. I hope you write that.
"The senior class has won 52 games and we've got people complaining. Give me a break.
"I'm going to say it one more time: we've had eight 10-plus win seasons, we're 12-0. Third time in the history of this school we've won five state championships in a row. And when that's not enough for some people, that's sad. That's sad.
"I ain't ever going to apologize for a 21-point win over our rival. And winning five straight games over our rival.
"There's been some articles pushed my way and some comments, I'm not gonna stand for that. Our program is not going to be like that. Our players work too hard. The goal is to win, period. I don't want to ever be a program -- ever -- that doesn't appreciate winning.
"Just look around college football, there's a lot of people that would love to have the program that we have here, I can tell you that.
"12-0 ain't good enough? Then it's time for me to seek other places. Make sure you get that."
— Said the offensive interference call against Amari Rodgers was a tick-tack call. Called it a judgment thing. Said it is what it is.
Narduzzi
— Said some of his guys were probably looking ahead to Clemson in Saturday's loss to Miami.
— Said the result from two years ago doesn't affect this game.
— Said Swinney is not only a football coach but a business man. He has all the tools he needs to win games, like slides. Said he's sort of doing it the "Saban way" in building Clemson a powerhouse.
— Said "he'd like to be like Dabo some day." Thinks he's done things the right way.
Dabo Swinney sends threatening message to fanbase