Clemson got back to business Monday afternoon with its first Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic practice at AT&T Stadium.
Continuing the theme from the regular season, the Tigers (13-0, 8-0 ACC) conducted a regular Mental Monday workout in shorts and shells, focusing in on the mental aspects of preparation for their College Football Playoff Semifinal matchup with the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-0).
“It’s not a typical Mental Monday just because, obviously, we’ve had a lot more time to get ready,” said head coach Dabo Swinney. “The plan is in. Normally you’re coming out here on Monday and we’re just kind of in the infant stages of getting the plan, but the plan is in. We’ve gotten all of our game planning done back in Clemson.”
The second-seeded Tigers were on the practice field for just under two hours, emphasizing individual drills to kick off their game week work in North Texas.
“We had a couple periods longer than a normal Monday, but still the same objective – let’s get our mind right, it’s our first day here, everybody stares at the jumbotron and all of that stuff. But it was good, good energy and good focus out here,” added Swinney. “We’ll ramp it up as we go from here.”
Clemson will go from business to some fun tonight taking in a comedy show and enjoying some down time at their headquarters hotel. The Tigers are right back tomorrow with a Christmas Day practice.
The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic celebrates its 83rd anniversary on Saturday, Dec. 29. Live coverage on ESPN is set for 3 p.m. CST, with kickoff slated for 3:10 p.m.
This marks the fifth consecutive year for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic to be a part of the ESPN bowl lineup. Sean McDonough and Todd Blackledge are set to provide the call from the booth with Holly Rowe and Tom Rinaldi reporting from the sidelines.
ESPN Radio returns as the Classic’s national radio partner for the seventh consecutive year. Bill Rosinski teams with David Norrie in the booth and Ian Fitzsimmons on the sidelines to describe all the action from AT&T Stadium.
