page_title: Clemson Tigers football
section_title: Dabo Swinney era (2008–present)
hierarchical_section_title: Clemson Tigers football / History / Dabo Swinney era (2008–present)
caption_attribution_description: English: Dabo Swinney, coaching the Clemson Tigers during a football game on October 31, 2015 against the NC State Wolfpack. This file has been extracted from another file&#x3a;&#32; Dabo Swinney.jpg
context_page_description: The Clemson Tigers football program, known traditionally as the "Clemson University Fighting Tigers," represent Clemson University in the sport of American football. The Tigers compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Consistently ranked among the most elite college football programs in the United States, the team is known for its storied history, distinctive helmet, fight song, and colors, as well as the many traditions associated with the school.
  Formed in 1896, the program has over 750 wins and has achieved three consensus Division I Football National Championships in the modern era, and were College Football Playoff National Championship Finalists in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019, winning the championship game over the Alabama Crimson Tide for the 2016 and 2018 seasons. Clemson has had 6 undefeated seasons, 5 consecutive College Football Playoff appearances, 25 conference championships, 8 divisional titles, and has produced over 100 All-Americans, 17 Academic All-Americans and over 250 NFL players.
context_section_description: Following the departure of Tommy Bowden, wide receivers coach Dabo Swinney was dubbed interim head coach and led the Tigers to a 4–2 record, finishing the 2008 regular season at 7–6. On December 1, 2008, Swinney signed a five-year contract as Clemson's permanent head coach.
  On November 21, 2009, Swinney and the Tigers qualified for their first ACC title game berth, only to lose to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 39–34. They were awarded a trip to the 2009 Music City Bowl, and defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 21–13, avenging their upset loss in the 2006 Music City Bowl.
  During the 2010 season, after a close 24–27 overtime loss to national champion Auburn on the road, Clemson was later defeated in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina. In January 2011, Swinney hired new offensive coordinator Chad Morris.  Morris became tied with Gus Malzahn as the highest paid assistant in college football after Clemson gave Morris a six-year contract worth $1.3 million annually. Dabo also added on running backs coach Tony Elliott, and defensive line coach Marion Hobby.
  On September 17, 2011, Clemson beat the defending national champions, the #21-ranked Auburn Tigers, and ended Auburn's 17-game winning streak, the longest winning streak in the nation. On October 1, 2011, Clemson became the first ACC team to beat three nationally ranked opponents in a row: #21-ranked Auburn, #11-ranked Florida State, and #11-ranked Virginia Tech. On November 12, 2011, Clemson defeated Wake Forest, winning the ACC Atlantic Division title. On November 26, 2011, Clemson lost to South Carolina for the third straight year, the first time Clemson had lost three straight to its instate rival since the seasons from 1968 to 1970. On December 3, the Tigers won their first ACC Championship since 1991, defeating Virginia Tech 38–10 in the Championship Game.   No. 15 Clemson would go on to lose to the No. 23 West Virginia Mountaineers in the 2012 Orange Bowl 70–33, giving up an all-time record number of points scored in a quarter (35), half (49) and game (70) in the 109-year history of bowl games.
  On December 31, 2012, Clemson achieved its first 11-win season since the national championship year with a last-second upset win over the No. 8 LSU Tigers in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.  Clemson trailed 24–13 in the fourth quarter, but rallied back with a game-winning drive that saw a 4th and 16 conversion deep in their own territory that would lead to Chandler Catanzaro's 37-yard field goal as time expired to give Clemson a 25–24 win.
  The 2013 season was historic for the Clemson football program. The Tigers began the season with a 38–35 home victory over rival and fifth-ranked Georgia and ended the regular season with a record fifth-straight loss to arch-rival South Carolina, 31–17, in the first Top 10 meeting of the two schools (Clemson No. 4, Carolina #9). The Tigers finished 11–2 in 2013 and secured the school's first ever BCS bowl win with a 40–35 victory over No. 7 Ohio State in the Orange Bowl.  Quarterback Tajh Boyd and wide receiver Sammy Watkins set Orange Bowl yardage records.  Boyd compiled 505 total yards and threw five touchdowns. It was the Tigers fourth win over a top 10 opponent under Swinney.
  Clemson finished 10–3 in 2014, highlighted by a 35–17 win over arch-rival South Carolina and a 40–6 win over Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl. The Tigers took on ACC rival Florida State in week 3 of their season only to suffer a loss in overtime as No. 22 Clemson lost to No. 1 Florida State 17–23. The Tigers then claimed a six-game winning streak in the middle of their season but lost to Georgia Tech as star freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson went out with a knee injury early in the 1st quarter. The Tigers claimed the nation's number 1-ranked defense under defensive coordinator Brent Venables in 2014, and the emergence of freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson propelled the Tigers to another 10-win season for the 4th time in Dabo Swinney's six years as head coach.
  The 2015 season is regarded by sports writers as one of the most successful seasons in Clemson h
caption: Coach Swinney
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