Dabo Swinney on Clemson Cheez-It Bowl victory, ten-win season

Following their 20-13 win over Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney praised his team’s defensive effort down the stretch. The win gave Clemson it’s 11th straight ten-win season as they finished the year 10-3 in Swinney’s 13th year as coach of the Tigers.

Clemson’s win gives Swinney his 150th career win as a head coach, the 6th fastest to reach that milestone in NCAA history.

Dabo Swinney on Clemson’s bowl win

“It’s all about how you finish,” said an excited Swinney after the game. “What an unbelievable effort right here by this team. Ten wins, 11 years in a row. That’s historic. I don’t think people realize how hard that is to do. We’ve always wanted to be a program of consistency. Back against the wall, 2-2 [record] — and man these guys just stayed in the now and kept focusing. Kept the faith. They fought the fight, kept the faith and they finished tonight. I’m just super proud of them.

“Iowa State is a heck of a team, we knew that. Every game for them has been a one possession game — that’s just kinda who they are. So we knew we were gonna have a tough fight. I’m just really proud of our football team. We had 28 guys unavailable for the Tigers, scholarship guys. And we’ve had over 18 about every game all year. Two coordinators gone, and man these guys just come together and just show what Clemson’s made of.

“Well, they love to play, we’ve got a bunch of competitors — They’ve just got the heart of a champion and eye of a tiger,” praised Swinney of his team having no players opt-out of the bowl game. “Clemson’s bigger than any coach, it’s bigger than any player. And that’s what you saw from this team all year long. We just kept finding a way. It’s been a special year. It’s been a great year.

“This team is committed. Just because you have the same name doesn’t mean you’re a family, but these guys were truly a family all year long. I love these players, I enjoyed the year. Hopefully we reset a little bit on the appreciation of winning — what it takes to win, the mentality you’ve gotta have to win. And I’m real happy for our fans. What is this, six in a row, eight out of nine? And our 8th bowl win in our last ten.

“How about our defense? I know Brent Venables is somewhere smiling and he’s saying ‘I told you my defense didn’t go to Oklahoma! I told you!’ I can hear him right now. I love you Brent, I love you Tony [Elliott]!”

Clemson’s 11 consecutive ten-win seasons is the third longest streak in college football, behind only Florida State and Alabama who each have a 14-year streak. Alabama’s streak is currently active, while Florida State’s ended in 2000.