Tech, Clemson move on, focus on preparation

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had familiar things to say ahead of Saturday's ACC championship game in Tampa.

After their teams were beaten by state rivals on Saturday, both said they were and are disappointed by the defeats, but it's time to focus on the bigger goal: winning the first title for either team since 1998, and with it a spot in the Orange Bowl.

"For eight straight weeks you talked about water under the bridge," Johnson said, referring to his team's win streak and need to focus anew each week. "Now, the regular season's over. We finished 10-2. We have a chance to move on. We've earned that right, so we've got to go play."

Swinney was just as focused, applying a quote to his team's rivalry with South Carolina that Johnson had used last week when saying that beating Georgia shouldn't be the big deal in a season. The Bulldogs defeated Tech 30-24 on Saturday, while the Tigers were defeated by South Carolina, 34-17.

"We've beaten Carolina many times, many, many times," Swinney said. " We've done that. We haven't won a conference in 18 years. It's something, I think, that our guys will be excited about. They know that there are two teams out of 12 that have earned this right.

"It's down to two teams. One team's going to be the champion Saturday night."

Both coaches said there is some schematic advantage in the fact that they've already played each other once this season -- Tech won 30-27 in a Thursday night shootout in the season's second week -- but neither seemed to be able to say specifically how it could help.

As Swinney pointed out, there's some memory recall in how certain guys block but it's been so long since they've played, tendencies could change.

Johnson pointed out that Clemson's offense has improved dramatically since their first meeting. After starting the season 2-3, the Tigers won six consecutive games to clinch the Atlantic Division. Of course, Johnson said he no idea how the Tigers were going to line up on defense because it was just defensive coordinator Kevin Steele's second game. Now, they have a much better idea.

But the ability to focus is what both coaches discussed on Sunday.

Swinney praised his team for overcoming its poor start, while Johnson said he doubts many people predicted his team would go 10-2 in his second season.

And, no, neither thinks that the quality and importance of the game are diminished just because both of them lost to SEC teams on Saturday.

"It's really sad that people take so much joy in [others] not being successful," Swinney said. "I've never been afraid to fail. If I have my eyes on the right thing and I believe in myself, then I'm going to make it. That's what I want to instill in these players."