Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media for his regular weekly press conference. Here is his opening statement to the media as the third-ranked Tigers host Florida State this Saturday in Death Valley at 3:30 p.m.

“I’m really proud of our guys, back-to-back road wins. It has been a tough stretch in how they have played. Obviously, we had a clean game down in Miami, and then a hard fought game at NC State where we had a lot of momentum swings and were able to continue to turn in back and finish the game in a strong fashion so I’m really proud of our team for the stretch we have had these last couple of road games. We are glad to be home. I’m really excited about being in front of our home crowd this week. Obviously, we all know the Clemson-Florida State game is always a big game. For us it is the biggest game because it is the next game, but some games always have a little extra juice to them, but this is a game that is big for both teams for many years. I look forward to competing against those guys.

“Florida State is the same ole same ole. They are well coached. They have fast dudes all over the place. They know what they are doing. Defensively, they are very talented, up front. They have some young guys. They have recruited very well. They have gotten better as the year has gone on. They are outstanding in the secondary. They have some guys that can run. They have great length, 6-2, 6-3 guys back there. Again, it is the same ole challenge.

“Offensively, they have a big strong offensive line. Dalvin Cook, you know how I feel about him. He is an amazing player. He leads this league in all-purpose yards. He leads this league in scoring. He is averaging 8.2 yards per carry. Those are some freakish numbers, 148 yards per game. They do a great job of involving him into the passing game. They probably screen to the backs about as good as anyone you will see. No. 9, Dalvin did not play last week, No. 9 is a different guy. He is 235 plus pounds. He is big and strong. He is an outstanding back. They have excellent receivers like they always have. Really good football players … 3, 15 and 8 and all of those guys and they have talented freshman that they have mixed in there as well. They always do a good job with their tight ends.

“I know that Golson did not play last week. They don’t really do anything different. They run their offense and both of those guys are very capable of running their offense and obviously Maguire beat us last year, and Golson has had a heck of year for them this year. He is second in the league in passing, so they are just a really good football team.

“Their kicker has been there going on eight years I think. Two terms. He is an amazing talent, and he is a great weapon for them. Their punter is back and they have excellent skill in the return game so there really isn’t anything different. This is a team we play every year and we know a lot about them. We recruit a lot of the same guys and our guys know them.

“I have a lot of respect for Florida State. This is a team that has been the best in our league the last three years and they have earned it. They have been a great representative, they won the national championship, they played in the first College Football Playoff last year. If we want to have an opportunity to do that, then you have to win this game. You have to find a way to beat these guys. That is easier said and done. There have not been many teams that have been able to do it. We have had our opportunities. We will have to find a way to finish it if we are going to beat them. That’s for sure. We look forward to getting after it on 3:30 on Saturday.”