Clemson's focus is not on New Orleans, instead on five goals

To most outside observers, Clemson’s goal for 2019 would be singular and would be accomplished only by lifting a 35-pound trophy of 24-karat gold, bronze and stainless steel in New Orleans next January.

However, inside the program, the team’s goals remain the same as they’ve been throughout Head Coach Dabo Swinney’s tenure at Clemson: Win the opener, win the division, win the state, win the conference and win the closer.

Clemson’s went five-for-five on Swinney’s team goals in 2018 en route to becoming the first FBS team in the modern era to finish a season 15-0. The Tigers did so in dominant fashion, becoming the first FBS team since at least 2000 to win 13 games by 20 or more points.

Clemson enters the season riding a streak of eight-consecutive 10-win seasons, tied for the fourth-longest streak in FBS history. Clemson is 97-15 dating back to the first 10-win season in that stretch in 2011, but despite Clemson being the second-winningest program in college football in that time frame, the Tigers have exceeded public preseason expectations almost every year in that time frame.

The Tigers have exceeded their preseason Coaches Poll ranking every year since 2011 and have exceeded their preseason AP Poll ranking in seven of those eight seasons, with the lone exception coming in 2013 when Clemson both started and finished the season at No. 8. Clemson’s unprecedented eight-year streak of finishing better than its preseason ranking in the Coaches Poll could come to an end by default in 2019 if the Tigers open the inaugural 2019 poll at No. 1.

Clemson will undoubtedly miss the contributions — and personalities — of its 2018 senior class, which exited college football as one of the most decorated classes in the sport’s illustrious history. The 2018 Clemson seniors completed their careers with an FBS-record-tying 55 career wins in four years with four ACC titles and two national championships.

“For some people, people measure things by trophies, but I never measure things that way,” Swinney said. “[National championships] are just a byproduct of what can happen.”

However, while the task is large, the 2019 Clemson senior class will have the opportunity to match or exceed the 2018 group this season. This year’s Clemson seniors are 41-3 in the last three seasons and need 14 wins to match or 15 wins to pass to the 2018 Clemson and Alabama seniors (55 each) for the most in FBS history.

A common theme of Clemson’s record-setting 2018 season was accomplishing feats that had never before been accomplished. The continued success will provide a similar opportunity for the 2019 squad, which can become the first school in FBS history to win five consecutive conference championship games.

Clemson returns 50 lettermen from the 2018 national champions. The returning experience will be particularly pronounced on offense, where the Tigers return eight players who started at least seven games for the Tigers last season.

The 2019 season will mark the second time in school history (and the second time in the last four years) that Clemson has returned a 3,000-yard passer (Trevor Lawrence), a 1,500-yard rusher (Travis Etienne) and a 1,000-yard receiver (Justyn Ross) in the same year. The only other Clemson team to welcome back such a trio was the eventual national champion 2016 squad, which returned quarterback Deshaun Watson, running back Wayne Gallman and wide receiver Mike Williams.

As is standard in college athletics, new faces will also be asked to contribute this season, but Clemson’s playing time philosophy could prove fruitful in that respect. Swinney, a walk-on in his playing days at Alabama, has long been adamant that players who deserve the opportunity will play. Clemson played an average of 72.5 players per game a year ago, an average that far exceeded all other AP Top 25 teams, including fellow College Football Playoff participants Alabama (55.7), Notre Dame (55.4) and Oklahoma (52.4).

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