Ranking Dabo Swinney’s 5 Best Regular-Season Wins at Clemson

The Clemson Tigers are preparing for a primetime matchup with LSU in Week 1, which promises to be one of the program’s biggest regular-season games in recent memory.

In this article, we rank the five best regular-season wins that Swinney has earned during his 18 seasons as Clemson’s head coach.

5. #3 Clemson 27, Syracuse 23 | Sept. 29, 2018

Clemson defensive lineman Xavier Thomas (3) sacks Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey (2) in the Tigers' standout win. | Ken Ruinard / staff via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Clemson’s historic 2018 season, which led to a third national championship, nearly unraveled in this critical September game. Star freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence was knocked out of his first career start with a concussion in the second quarter.

Syracuse, which entered the game 4-0, was seeking a second upset of the Tigers in three seasons. Through chunk pass plays and a ferocious pass rush, Dino Babers’ squad built a 16-7 lead by halftime, and Clemson’s unbeaten season was officially in jeopardy.

Without Lawrence, All-American running back Travis Etienne carried the offense to the comeback. The eventual NCAA scoring leader for that season rumbled for a season-high 203 yards on 27 carries, scoring three touchdowns. With Syracuse leading 23-13 in the fourth quarter, Etienne and backup quarterback Chase Brice rose to the occasion, making clutch throws and running on a tired Orange defense. Etienne hit paydirt on back-to-back drives, including the game-winning score with 41 seconds remaining.

Without this victory, it would have been Syracuse who represented the Atlantic Division in the ACC title game. That likely would have meant no CFP appearance for Clemson, the eventual national champ.

4. #8 Clemson 38, #5 Georgia 35 | Aug. 31, 2013

Swinney reacts after a review confirming a TD catch by wide receiver Stanton Seckinger (81) against Georgia. | Bart Boatwright / Staff

Clemson’s 2012 season was capped off with a thrilling 25-24 Chick-fil-A Bowl win over No. 9 LSU, the program’s first time winning 11 games since the 1981 national championship season.

A home-and-home series with a top-flight Georgia program was awaiting the Tigers to begin 2013. The Bulldogs were just a few yards from taking down Alabama in the previous season’s SEC title game and meeting Notre Dame for the national championship.

Tahj Boyd and the Clemson offense outdueled a potent Georgia team under the lights with ESPN’s College GameDay in attendance. Future top-10 NFL draft picks Sammy Watkins (6 catches, 127 yards, 1 touchdown) and Todd Gurley (12 carries, 154 yards, 2 touchdowns) lit up Memorial Stadium all night long.

Despite Watkins and Gurley’s heroics, Boyd’s trio of touchdown passes and a botched field goal attempt by Georgia in the third quarter proved decisive. The win marked the third straight season that Swinney’s team had defeated an SEC opponent.

3. #21 Clemson 35, South Carolina 17 | Nov. 29, 2014

Climeson quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) played the Palmetto Bowl game with a torn ACL back in 2014. The Tigers still won. | Joshua S. Kelly-Imagn Images

While the 2014 iteration of South Carolina left much to be desired on the field, this win was vital to restore the Palmetto State as Clemson’s. Deshaun Watson returned from what was later confirmed to be a torn ACL in his left knee to lead the Tigers to a comfortable win.

Though Watson and his 4 total touchdowns were the main story, true freshman wide receiver Artavis Scott showed his speed early and often against the Gamecocks. Offensive coordinator utilized Scott on jet sweep plays, leading to a seven-catch, 185-yard day for the speedster. His 53-yard scamper tied the game in the first quarter, and a 70-yarder just after halftime helped put South Carolina away.

With the win, Swinney earned his second win over the Gamecocks, and first as the permanent head coach. South Carolina had defeated Clemson five straight times, all by double-digit margins.

2. #12 Clemson 24, #6 Notre Dame 22 | Oct. 3, 2015

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney celebrates with defensive tackle Kevin Dodd (98) after the Tigers' 24-22 win over Notre Dame. | BART BOATWRIGHT/Staff

In the now-infamous “Bring Your Own Guts” game, Clemson made a heroic stand on a game-tying two-point conversion attempt by Notre Dame with just seven seconds remaining to earn the win.

College GameDay was in attendance again, as the Tigers hosted the powerhouse Fighting Irish in the midst of a torrential downpour from Hurricane Joaquin. Notre Dame hadn’t visited Death Valley since 1977, when future Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana ran for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat Clemson 21-17. The Irish went on to win the national title.

Clemson looked to have buried Notre Dame early, but DeShone Kizer rallied Brian Kelly’s team back from a 21-3 second-half deficit. Defensive leader and current linebackers coach Ben Boulware helped stuff a power run play on the two-point conversion, leading to a delirious Death Valley and Swinney’s viral interview.

The Tigers rode the momentum from the Notre Dame win into a perfect regular season, the program’s 6th ever at the time. Despite a 45-40 national title game defeat to Alabama, the nation now saw Clemson as a true blue-blood program that could play with and defeat the sport’s best teams.

1. #5 Clemson 42, #3 Louisville 36 | Oct. 1, 2016

Marcus Edmond (29) knocks Louisville Cardinals wide receiver James Quick (17) out of bounds on fourth down to win the game. | Joshua S. Kelly-Imagn Images

Widely regarded as a modern classic, the battle between top-five teams matched – and maybe even exceeded – the hype.

Eventual Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson and the aforementioned Watson dueled all night in a game that was decided by just a yard.

In a game riddled with turnovers (there were 8 total between the teams), Clemson roared to a 28-10 halftime lead before Jackson struck back. 26 unanswered points by the Cardinals put the game in jeopardy quickly for the Tigers.

Down 36-28 with under eight minutes remaining, Watson had the final word. Touchdown passes to Mike Williams and Jordan Leggett gave Clemson a 42-36 lead with just over three minutes to play. Louisville’s final drive ended when Jackson found wide receiver James Quick on a 4th-and-12 from the Clemson 14, but Tigers cornerback Marcus Edmond made the clutch tackle a yard short of the first down, sealing the game.

Clemson would go on to avenge its title game loss from 2015, defeating Alabama 35-31 on a last-second touchdown by Hunter Renfrow to win a second national championship, and first since 1981.

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