There was a point midway through this season where Dabo Swinney had to, once again, address the nonsensical, lazy – and frankly, sophomoric – narrative.
Has Clemson finally put to rest the notion that it loses games it shouldn’t, or doesn’t crumble in the big moments? A statement that could be used for any program finding itself; for any team making the jump from one level of play to the nation’s elite.
SN AWARDS: All-American teams | Freshman All-Americans
“It’s insulting to even hear it,” Swinney says.
Here’s why: not only has Clemson proven since 2011 that it doesn’t wilt in the big moment (hello, big wins vs. Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Auburn, Florida State – shall we continue?), Swinney had this 2015 team thinking much bigger.
First of a kind, bigger.
“No one has ever won 15 of 15,” Swinney said. “So I told our guys, let’s go get it.”
Now they’re two games away from it. Swinney is Sporting News' Coach of the Year for more than just the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, or the three big wins (Notre Dame, FSU, North Carolina) that are as good as any other resume in the nation. It’s about 2015, but getting there is the long, impressive process of building the program and adjusting to change.
Like losing wildly successful offensive coordinator Chad Morris, replacing him with rising young stars Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott and moving forward without a hiccup.
Like safely (and smartly) not overworking QB Deshaun Watson, mere weeks from complete rehabilitation of a surgically-repaired knee, early in the season – before finally letting go in the first week of October.
MORE: Follow Clemson's path to the top seed
Like keeping this Clemson team focused on the bigger goal of winning Saturday, instead of winning some cheap argument about some tired narrative.
“We could tell this summer that there was something special with this team,” Watson said. “We knew it, and (Swinney) knew it. That 15 of 15 isn’t just something we say; that’s what we believe. When everyone is on the same page, that’s a powerful thing.”
Despite what you’ve heard, Clemson has been there for years under Swinney. You don’t win 55 games since 2011 by stumbling in the big moment or losing games you shouldn’t. You do it by building an elite program, winning a conference championship -- and eventually winning it all.
“Our goals have never wavered here from Day 1,” Swinney said. “We want to win a national championship. Period.”
They’re two games away from 15 for 15.