Tigers Focused On Ending Mental Mistakes

The Clemson Tigers went back to work on Monday with one focus and one focus only–fixing the mental mistakes that plagued them

But that focus was challenged even further, as a campus-wide power outage meant the Tigers normal iron-clad schedule had to be adjusted. And head coach Dabo Swinney wasted little time letting the players and the coaches know that none of them are perfect and they all have to get better.

"Oh yeah. Absolutely. It was a normal Monday for us. The only change was that we had a power outage," Swinney said. "We were able to get back to the meeting. It was great. We have a lot we have to improve on. We've had four pretty good games, but all of a sudden had some adversity. It's so much more fun to correct with a win than to lose the game. We have a lot of self-awareness on this team.

"We're not perfect coaches and we're not perfect as players. Accountability is important. We've always had that in our program. Today was a day of praise and loving them up. Most teams lose that game. I love the heart of our team. But then also you ask how can we get better. It's easy to get everyone's attention when they see the mistakes."

Swinney believes that the mental errors, including turnovers and penalties, were the most that his teams have had in recent memory.

The Tigers won that their game against North Carolina by the slimmest of margins—one point. Even though, according to Swinney the best team won, they did not play up to their potential—which has been a mantra of Swinney since taking over in 2008. The Tigers are expected to not let themselves beat them.

"It's the most (mental mistakes) in awhile," Swinney said. "We've had them in other games but those games weren't close. I don't remember a game where we had that many critical penalties. We didn't fit some things right defensively and squeeze properly. We saw some things happen that we don't normally do. We're a better team than North Carolina and the best team won but we did not play anywhere near to our ability."

Do not misconstrue Swinney statement as arrogance, as he has the utmost respect for North Carolina head coach Mack Brown.

Instead it is a reminder that if the Tigers are not focused on their plan and their job they can easily lose a game. And with it, their chance at a national title.

"First of all, you have to give them credit. They fought their butts off, they had a good plan. As far as what they were trying to do, they were great,"Swinney said. "They made some great plays. I don't want to take anything away from them. I'm just focused on the things that we control - alignments, pre-snap issues, penalties, situational awareness ... things that can add up quickly, especially when they're occurring on third-and-1."

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