Q&A with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his Tigers got their fourth win of the season in rather thrilling fashion, holding off a frenetic Louisville drive in the final minute and winning 23-17 at Memorial Stadium.

Here's what Swinney had to say after the game:

Opening statement: That game was just heart. That right there is what it's all about -- seeing a group of guys play like a family and have each other's back. They had a never-quit attitude. Jayron Kearse's play at the end of the game was the epitome of the day: He never quit. We won the game on special teams, on defense and with just enough offense to get by.

On Louisville's defense: Louisville's defense today was the best defense Bobby Petrino has had and the best Petrino defense we've seen in a while. It took a while for us to get going against them, but we just kept battling. Our last offensive drive was huge. It gave us time to get the defense some rest and get back out there and win the game for us.

On special teams: We've been getting better on special teams and that's now three weeks in a row where we've been outstanding. Ammon Lakip was 3 of 3 (on field-goal attempts) and it was just huge.

On Clemson's defense: We had to fight for every inch out there today. Our defense was tremendous. Louisville was 1 of 17 on third down. We had stops on third and short and fourth down. We created two turnovers and scored on defense. (Vic Beasley) got the sack record and Ben Boulware played tremendous as he stepped in for Tony Steward. This was a great team win.

On the last Louisville possession: We don't want to let what happened on Louisville's last offensive possession happen, but just to see the defensive heart was awesome. Jayron Kearse running the guy down was great. This was an awesome game to be a part of. It's good to win games like that. Our seniors are 7-1 in games decided by a touchdown. That's an attitude and commitment. That's football.

On Cole Stoudt at QB: Cole Stoudt lost his job as a starter, but he's such a great example for our team. He didn't take a snap in practice all week because of his hurt shoulder. He was 20 of 33 tonight, which isn't perfect, but after losing his starting job, he chose to have a good attitude and go back to work. He's continued to be just as good a leader as when he was starting. It seemed like the air went out of us when we lost Deshaun (Watson). but Cole went in and picked us up.