Dabo Swinney says Clemson players have 'a lot' of pride in 12-year streak of winning 10 games

Dabo Swinney has been the architect of another dominant era of Clemson football. The Tigers have consistently been atop the national standings during his tenure and, this weekend, they look to make some more history. With a win over Miami, Clemson will earn their 12th consecutive season of double-digit wins.

Swinney reflected on the accomplishment during his press conference on Wednesday. Considering the history of college football, he knows his team and program have a chance to join some rarefied air with a 10th victory this weekend.

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“There’s only two teams in the history of football that have 12 ten-plus win seasons. That’s Bobby Bowden’s Florida State and then this current Alabama group. We have a chance to be the third this weekend to ever do that in history,” said Swinney. “It’s something that we all take a lot of pride in.”

He went on to say this was a goal that formed very early on in his time at the school. Before Trevor Lawrence, Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence, or Deshaun Watson even took the field for Clemson, Swinney led Clemson to the first of these 10-win seasons back in 2011. It was their first since 1990 but, even then, he wanted them to temper their expectations.

In the end, he said it would only have mattered if they could string several of those seasons together and, therefore, contend for titles. Considering they’re looking for their twelfth after winning seven ACC championships and two national titles, it’s safe to say that Clemson has made them count over this span.

“If you go back to 2011, that was one of the things that I said in one of those press conferences after we won 10 games…I remember vividly because everybody was all excited. And I’m like, ‘Well, this is good. But let’s go put four, five, or six of these in a row together and create consistency,” Swinney said. “I didn’t know we’d go put 11, and hopefully 12, plus together but that’s how it’s worked out.”

“It’s special. It’s the type of consistency that leads to championships. You’re not going to win a championship every year. But, when you have that type of consistency? Competitively you put yourself in position. (And) you’ll have your fair share of those opportunities and times when you get it done.”

Clemson has placed itself near the head of the table with this last run over a decade plus. They’ve been amongst the best in the sport and their train doesn’t look like it’s losing any steam. While it may not lead to another appearance in the CFP this season, Swinney’s only focus as of now is capitalizing on it in their latest appearance in the ACC Title Game on December 3rd.