CLEMSON, S.C. — After 12 consecutive years of double-digit wins, Clemson went 9-4 in 2023 and that ninth win was in thrilling fashion over Kentucky in the Gator Bowl as the Tigers closed out the season with consecutive victories.
Head coach Dabo Swinney is well aware his team has lost a little of its national luster because it has gone three seasons without earning a trip to the CFB playoff.
Swinney points to that six-year stretch when the Tigers were in the national spotlight and how his team won the close games consistently which is how a team keeps its playoff hopes alive, the loss to Pitt at home notwithstanding.
“These last three years in this so-called ‘horrible [and] terrible’ era of Clemson football, we have been good but we haven’t been great,” Swinney said.
“We’ve won more games in the last three years than 126 of the 134 Division 1 teams. That’s 94th percentile. I think we would all say that is good, that’s an A. But to get an A+, we have to be great.”
This year marks Swinney's 16th season in charge of the Tiger program.