The championship bout most expected during the long offseason summer months has finally arrived as Clemson and Alabama are set to once again meet on the field with the national championship on the line.

Next Monday’s game will be the fourth consecutive College Football Playoff showdown between Dabo Swinney’s program and Nick Saban’s program in as many seasons and the third matchup in the title game — the 2017 contest was a CFP semifinal game.

Leading up to the game, Swinney participated in a Monday CFP teleconference on the game. We’ve taken the liberty of rounding up every question and answer the Clemson coach was asked about Alabama during the call.

Question: I know you’ve used the Rocky movies going into this in the past, but now that you’ve seen Alabama for four years, what’s the biggest thing mindset-wise that you emphasize with your players in preparation?

Swinney: “Well, I don’t really have to emphasize it with this group, I mean, because they know. Like you said, we’ve played them now four years in a row, and this is a veteran team that we have. They understand that this is a game where you just have so little margin for error. I mean, it’s two or three plays, literally. You’ve got to have great preparation mentally and physically to get yourself ready.

“I mean, these are two really good teams that are both hard to beat, and you’ve got to do the little things to give yourself a chance, whether it be that field position battle, it’s where your guys are, it’s your footwork, positioning, it’s technique, because you just don’t have a lot of room for error, either team. I think when you look at this game, I think both teams are kind of mirror images of each other to be honest with you, really good defenses, dynamic quarterbacks, very talented running backs, and explosive skill, and just kind of built in the trenches. We’re so similar.

“So it’s going to come down to just execution and mentally being sharp and making those two or three plays that you don’t know when they’re coming. So you just have to truly play every play like it’s the play.

“But we love that challenge, and we know exactly what’s coming for sure with the type of team that we’re getting ready to play.”

Question: If there is one other constant through all these four games with you, not only you and Coach Saban, but it’s also Hunter Renfrow, the development of Hunter Renfrow and what kind of asset has he been in your building of your program there at Clemson?

Swinney: “Well, I think he’s a great representative of everything we want our program to be about: Grit, heart, toughness, perseverance, belief, just character and class in everything that you do. And that’s exactly who Hunter Renfrow is. He’s just an amazing young person. He just graduated. He’s getting married in April. Just a wonderful story. I mean, he’s what makes college football special, stories like Hunter Renfrow, and just really proud of him, and glad we’ve got him for one more game. So thankful.

“Outside of getting a chance to go play for the National Championship, the best thing is I get one more week with my guys, this senior group, and just what a special group it is. I’m just so thankful I get one more week to prepare to go do something we all love to do.”

Question: I know you compete against the ACC, you compete on a different level against South Carolina, your state rival. When you’re sort of looking at your plan in the off-season, are you competing? Are you looking at Alabama as a way, as a team that you’re competing with that you’re sort of looking at their standard, and are we keeping up to their standard?

Swinney: “No, no. I think when you start comparing yourself to other groups, then you miss out on (indiscernible). We study everybody in the country, but more importantly, we’ve got our own standard here, and we want to be the best version of ourselves year in and year out. So that’s what we focus on is what we did good, what we did bad, how do we continue to improve. But we don’t try to be anything other than the best version of us.

“I think if we try to be something that we’re not or try to do things that aren’t within our culture or structure or our beliefs, then you can get off track.

“But we pay attention to everyone out there, not just Alabama, but everybody, whether it be schematics or anything that’s new or cutting edge, whatever. We’re always trying to get better. But at the end of the day, we just try to be the best version of us, and we’re not trying to live up to anybody else’s standard. We’ve got our own standard here. That’s all we try to do year in and year out is stay true to our core values and the things that we believe in, and then we start over every year. But we learn and grow from each season. We learn from other people. But we don’t sit around and try to compare ourselves or anything like that.”