Dabo Swinney explains how to gear back up for bowl after time off

After taking some time off following the end of the regular season, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney needs to get his team refocused on the bowl game.

That can, of course, be a challenge. So, Swinney explained his strategy on how to hear back up for the bowl game after taking time off.

“A lot of the years, the past eight, nine years we’ve been in the championship game,” Dabo Swinney said. “So, we’ve had that week and you’re worried because you only got such a short break before you get back started, usually have about a week and a half or so.”

After so frequently playing in the ACC Championship Game before going to a New Year’s Six or other bowl game later in the calendar, the schedule this season is a little bit unique for the Tigers. That’s something that Swinney and the program have needed to adjust to.

“But the biggest thing is that first week just let them have a break. I think they need it. Everybody needs to disengage. Obviously, there’s a lot going on. Kids, they don’t have much time, so now they get a chance to kind of sit down and process things a little bit and a little extra time to heal up,” Swinney said.

“But the first week was just kind of open gym. Then, last week, we had mandatory lifting and running and there was a couple days of skills and drills. Just kind of keep them sharp there. Throwing and catching and just some group individual work. Then, this week, we get back into practice.”

Clemson will play Kentucky in the Gator Bowl on December 29th in Jacksonville, Florida. Clemson opened as a seven-point favorite in the game.

“So, we have a good plan for it to make sure you are not starting from scratch. You want them to be excited too. That’s how you structure practice because, again, you do not have a lot of time to get ready. We are not on the field long with the varsity. We’ll be out there a little longer because we’ve got JV work but we won’t be on long with varsity. So, we have to be really focused. You want them to have good energy.”

Still, even as Clemson gets back to practice, there are plenty of distractions for the team off the field.

“It’s hard this week because you’ve got finals going on as well, so you’ve got to kind of balance that. I think last year was the same, but several years prior to that they had already had finals,” Swinney said. “Sometimes the calendar just changes on you like that, so it is a little bit more to balance this week.”

Dabo Swinney explains whether he expected this level of success over final month

Clemson struggled at times during the 2023 season but ended on an impressive four-game winning streak. It was a strong end to the season that Dabo Swinney absolutely expected of his team.

“The leadership on this team, I mean it’s inspiring, man, to see these guys. So happy for them. I really am. It’s been fun to be a part of it. Absolutely, heck yeah. I think we’re going to win every game. I have never, ever gone into a game not thinking we’re going to win. Ever. If that day ever comes it’s probably time for me to go,” Swinney said.

“I just think we’re supposed to win, and I believe that. You’ve got to do what it takes to win. You’ve got to earn it. But absolutely, I mean we competed our butts off, and it’s disappointing that we didn’t win some of those other games. You’re talking about overtime, double overtime and a pick-six, one-score game. We just had a lot of critical mistakes and we just played better.”