Swinney: Layoff a Blessing

16 Days.

More than two weeks. That is how long the No. 3 Clemson Tigers have to wait before they face off against the No. 1 LSU Tigers in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

The difference this season and previous years is one full week. In previous seasons, the championship game was played only nine days removed from the semifinals, making the time for rest and recovery almost nonexistent.

While head coach Dabo Swinney hates the extended break in most cases, this season he understands that would have not been ideal for a Clemson team that had just finished their most physically demanding game of the season in their 29-23 win over No. 2 Ohio State.

"I mean, it’s great. This particular year it worked out good," Swinney said. "If you asked me before and even now, I’d prefer to go play. I think playing on Saturday and then playing the following Monday, I like that. But in this particular case, it’s a blessing for us because we can kind of give our guys a couple days to just rest and recover, and also the coaches."

For a Tiger team that has been going since June and July, with voluntary summer workouts, the dog-days of August camp and then the grind of the regular season, the break will provide a welcome respite.

However, they understand that all of those long hours and grinding through the season has all been for this one moment — a chance to once again be the kings of college football.

"I mean, it’s been a grind, so everybody has kind of got a day today to decompress and unpack," Swinney said. "We didn’t get in until late (the day after the semifinal), a long trip, we got delayed about three hours or so.

"So we’re excited about these next couple weeks. It’s going to be a lot of fun getting ready for this game and just being in it and knowing that we’re at this point and we’ve got a chance to go compete for it and we’ve earned it. We’re going to give it our best shot.

Add us as a preferred source on Google