Memorable rivalry week quotes

As Clemson and South Carolina prepare to clash on Saturday night in Death Valley, we take a look at some of the more memorable quotes said during the week of preparation.

Dabo Swinney on back and forth with Steve Spurrier:

“I’ll always defend myself. He took a shot at Death Valley, and I thought it was a pretty good comeback. I thought it was pretty funny. Again, I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach Spurrier, and I should. My focus is 100% on this program, the people in this program, and just trying to…”

Swinney on Clemson fans who might be disappointed with a 10-2 regular season:

“I think that’s a sad way to think about things. I think people that say that have no appreciation for winning or how hard it is to win. It’s just that simple. It’s hard to win ten ball games. People who say those things just don’t understand winning. It’s not only the biggest game of the year, it’s the most special. You have to live with it all year. But to say that if we lost all of those games and we were 0-11, and we win this game, then we had a great year? I doubt it. All I want to do is play our best game on Saturday night."

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables on preparing for South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw, the same way he prepared for E.J. Manuel:

"Whatever plan we used against Emanuel, we don't want to use that one this week."

Spurrier on back and forth with Swinney:

"I found out he loves Southern California and the University of North Carolina. That's what I found out about him. He really likes those two schools. Other than that, it's no big deal."

Spurrier on Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd and offensive coordinator Chad Morris:

"He's (Boyd) a candidate, he should be. I don't know why they aren't talking about him. I find it strange that they aren't talking about Chad Morris for a bunch of these openings, he's put together one of the top offenses in the country the last two years. I would think his name has got to be on a list of head coaching candidates."

Clemson center Dalton Freeman on facing South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney:

"We have faced guys like Clowney all year long, FSU, Maryland, Virginia Tech. It's not like he is superman or anything."

South Carolina cornerback Akeem Auguste on Swinney's comments from last year:

"We know about it but it's not our motivation. We don't entertain ignorance."

Clowney on his status for the Clemson game:

"100 percent Saturday. Put that in the paper."