Dabo Swinney discusses 'tough week' ahead of Clemson-Louisiana Tech

This has been a difficult week for the Clemson football team as Ella Bresee, who is the younger sister of Bryan Bresee, passed away on Thursday.

Ella Bresee spent last week with the Clemson football team, before suffering a setback during her battle with brain cancer.

Bryan Bresee is back home with his family and will not play Saturday against Louisiana Tech.

“It’s been a tough week, a heavy week. But it’s also given us an opportunity to have some real conversations,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told the ACC Network. “These are young people and this is a tough moment, and they’re all sharing in the pain with the Bresee family.”

Bryan Bresee returned home following Clemson’s win over Furman last Saturday.

Swinney said Wednesday evening that he is unsure when Bresee will rejoin the Clemson team and that his focus right now should be on his family and not football.

Swinney expects the Bresee family to be watching the Tigers matchup with Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

“Hopefully we can play in a way Saturday night that will bring them a little bit of joy in that moment,” Swinney said. “I know they’ll be watching, so the biggest thing we need to do is stay focused on the task at hand and what we’re trying to do. I think that will put a smile on Bryan’s face, for sure.”

Clemson is a 34-point favorite against Louisiana Tech, but Swinney warned that winning won’t be easy.

The Bulldogs were blown out by Missouri in their opener, before bouncing back against Stephen F. Austin last Saturday.

“This is a tough challenge. La Tech’s got a bunch of dudes. They’ve got enough to beat us, for sure,” Swinney said. “We’ve got to play well. We’ve yet to play four quarters. We’ve done a good job of compensating for each other. And good teams can do that, but great teams complement each other. And that’s what I’d like to see us do.”