Swinney Targets Kentucky

By MikeBullock  |   Wednesday, December 16, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

Clemson Tigers
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After a few much needed days off, the Clemson Tigers rolled up their sleeves and dug in to the task at hand. With only eleven days, including Christmas, between them and the Music City Bowl matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats, it was time to refocus.

“Been anxious to get back to work and look them in the eye,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said during his press conference on Tuesday. “I thought we had a really good team meeting last week where we addressed some things. They just finished up finals - these guys have had a lot on them and have been under the gun. I felt like they needed a couple of days off and they all got that. They seem much more refreshed today and focused to get to work on Kentucky. So I was pleased.
"We had a bit more than our typical Monday practice. We had pretty good conditioning at the end of practice. These next twelve days are important and that's to win the football game.”
While Clemson hoped to land in the Orange Bowl, their heartbreaking loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game dashed those aspirations. Now, they face a similarly disappointed Kentucky team coming off a loss to Tennessee, but hoping to continue their post season win streak.
Clemson, on the other hand is trying to end a Bowl skid that started with a loss to Kentucky in the very same bowl on December 29th of 2006.
For all-everything back C.J. Spiller, the Music City Bowl is his NCAA swansong, and his last chance to add to his record breaking statistics.
At his press conference, Swinney was asked about Spiller and if the team had a chip on their shoulder following the Heisman voting that left Spiller in sixth place.
"He was snubbed. Ain't no doubt about that,” Swinney responded. “Somewhere John Heisman is not very happy right now, I can assure you. I'm obviously very proud of Mark Ingram. That's my alma mater. I'm happy to see that, personally. But I would just say that if there's a gathering in the country of the so-called best players in college football and C.J. Spiller is not there, then that's a joke. That's the bottom line. This young man is an amazing football player and he has had a tremendous year. They probably need to redefine the rules for that award.
“As far as this game, trying to prove a point, no. We're just trying to win. His actions speak loud and clear. He'll be in New York when it counts in April."
Based on those statements, it’s easy to see that Kentucky’s main objective on December 27th will be to slow the Spiller train down. Coming off a four touchdown, 233 yard performance and facing the 100th ranked defense against the run, the Wildcats have their work cut out for them.

Meanwhile, Swinney will continue to try and end his first full season as head coach of the Tigers on a high note.
"We've come a long way in one year," declared Swinney. "This is where Clemson is supposed to be. This is our standard. This is our expectation. So, hopefully we can grow from this."

While Swinney will have to carry on without a handful of great players, good coaches bring greatness from the players they do have, so expect the Tigers to have new stars shining brightly for as long as Swinney runs the pride.
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