Dabo Swinney proud of winning ACC title for seventh time in eight years

ACC football has revolved around Clemson as of late. Dabo Swinney’s program has dominated the league with a 60-5 record against conference foes in the last eight seasons. That was taken to another level this weekend as the Tigers won their seventh ACC Championship in eight years.

Swinney was extremely proud of the accomplishment during his postgame press conference following the 39-10 win over North Carolina. He understands the kind of history they’re making because of the feat’s difficulty and says that it speaks volumes about both what they’ve done and what they can do moving forward.

“To be able to win our seventh one in eight years? And, again, I didn’t know this until tonight but that hadn’t been done since the ’70s at Alabama. So I know people think this is supposed to be easy. But it’s not,” said Swinney. “To win one (is great). But to be consistent like we’ve been as a program and to get the start that we’ve had in this decade? We had a great decade in the teens but we’re off to a better start in the ’20s. There’s a bright future ahead and you saw a lot of that tonight.”

Swinney has built a dynasty in Death Valley and, even in down years, there have been no signs of slowing down. They’ve dominated their competition out on the Atlantic coast and, although they’ve missed the CFP the last two seasons, they’re always going to make a case to the selection committee by racking up conference wins at the rate that they do.

Dabo Swinney names Cade Klubnik starter for Orange Bowl

Clemson is headed to the Orange Bowl, and the Cade Klubnik era is off and running for the Tigers.

Dabo Swinney gave quarterback DJ Uiagalelei every chance to fend off the superstar recruit. However, his patience ran out during the ACC Championship Game. Clemson switched to Klubnik and never looked back, capturing a title in dominating fashion and showing off why their future is more than bright.

During his post-game press conference, the decision was easier than ever for Swinney — Klubnik will be their guy for the Orange Bowl.

“Cade man, he was ready. You got a chance to see what he can do, and he played with rhythm,” explained Swinney. “Guys made plays for him. You see he’s really, really fast. Can really make plays with his legs…I think he might’ve been our leading rusher on top of that. It was a great night, and again a glimpse to our future, and what it looks like at Clemson. So I’m really happy for him, and he’ll be — you know, he’s earned the opportunity to start.

“We’ve got a few weeks here, whoever we play in the Orange Bowl. I’m excited to see him continue to build on it, and again build, have a great finish and build some momentum going into next year.”