Whether they are third in the country or No. 1 in the country, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said it is totally irrelevant as his Tigers went to work on Wednesday afternoon for the first time as the No. 1 ranked team in the country.

It’s the first time Clemson has been ranked atop any poll or ranking since the 1981 season when they won the national championship.

“This is what we are doing, it is back to work,” said Swinney as the Tigers prepare to host No. 16 Florida State on Saturday. “It doesn’t matter if you are third in the country or number one in the country with almost half a season to go it is totally irrelevant.

“We have talked about that and these guys have a good perspective on it.”

Swinney says the Tigers, who are trying to improve to 9-0 for the first time since 1981, have had very spirited practices and seem very dialed in for what they’re going to see from Florida State.

“This has not been a difficult team to get to practice,” he said. “Practice is not easy, but they have an excellent spirit to them and they have all year. We have had only a handful of practices where I wanted to come off the field and go chew some nails or something. I have not had many of those.

“Like I said, they compete and they take pride in their performance, but more importantly they believe in our preparation process that we have. They know that it is necessary for them to be successful. We got a lot buying in in that regard.”

When Clemson runs down the Hill for 3:30 p.m. kickoff, it will mark the first time the Tigers have ever come onto the field in Death Valley as the No. 1 ranked team. Swinney said that is great and all, but he will like it better if they are the first No. 1-ranked team at Clemson to win at home.

“That’s when I will take pride in it,” Swinney said smiling. “If we become the first number-one ranked (Clemson) team to ever win at home, then we will dance and celebrate, but as far as all that other stuff, it does not matter.”