Swinney puts his mark on Tigers, makes history

By Marc Hudgens  |   Monday, November 03, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Clemson Tigers
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It wasn’t pretty. Heck, it wasn’t even ugly -- it was full-blown hideous. To the average college football fan, Clemson's 27-21 weekend win over Boston College was meaningless.

But to Clemson and its yearning fan base, the victory carries much significance.

It’s not that this was Clemson’s first post-Tommy Bowden win or that it was interim coach Dabo Swinney’s first triumph as a head coach. That was bound to happen. What made this special is that Swinney’s men accomplished something that hasn't been done since the Frank Howard era -- beat Boston College. Swinney was able to do something that Bowden, or even the revered Danny Ford, was not.

Sure, that was bound to happen as well. But for this to occur under an interim head coach in only his second game, and in the midst of the program’s most disappointing season in several years (and perhaps its most disappointing era ever), you can safely say the Alabama native has made his mark on Clemson; moreover, all his work in reuniting the team has bore a bit of fruit.

Furthermore, Swinney and the Tigers won the inaugural O'Rourke-McFadden Trophy, annually awarded to the winner between Clemson and Boston College, which has become a budding rivalry in today’s ACC.

Does this mean Clemson is “back”? Let’s not lose our minds. The team is still making scads of fundamental mistakes and did in fact let Boston College back in the game in the second half after entering halftime with a 17-0 lead. Shades of Maryland. But in this game, Swinney ensured Clemson kept fighting until the end, which is what fans have been starving for. This team does appear to have changed in spirit.

There is clearly still much work to do, but this win was the shot of B-12 the vapid Tigers direly needed.

Does this mean Swinney is now a shoo-in for the permanent position? Of course not, nor should it. The rest of the season must play out. But snapping a six-game, five-decade slide against the Eagles has added a huge gold star to his candidacy.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He...
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