Clemson’s 4-3 start has evoked talk of 2003, 2010, 2014. Here’s a look at all three
For the last 10 years, Clemson has won at least 10 games per season and two national championships, establishing itself as a national powerhouse program. The years prior, though, had their fair share of adversity, as Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney has mentioned during the team’s current struggles. Those years, he said, have given him a different perspective than some have outside of the program.
The Tigers have struggled on offense and now have three losses on the year for the first time since 2014. Swinney points to that year and notes how the Tigers were able to turn things around and win the final three games of the year, which included a 40-6 win over Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl. When it comes to how close the Tigers’ games have been this year, he references the 2010 season in which five of their seven losses came by a touchdown or less.
Heading into this week’s clash against Florida State, Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott recalls how the Tigers rallied to beat the nationally ranked Seminoles following a 45-17 loss to Wake Forest the week prior in 2003.
Here’s a look at the highs, lows and storylines from those 2003, 2010 and 2014 seasons:
Clemson 2003
Final record: 9-4
How it started: Shutout loss to Georgia 30-0; was 5-4 overall after 45-17 loss to Wake Forest
How it finished: Four straight wins, including a dominant 63-17 win over South Carolina and a 27-14 Peach Bowl win over Tennessee
In summary: After getting routed by Wake Forest, Elliott — who played for Clemson at the time — said he stood up in front of the team and challenged his teammates. It’s something he said was a rare occurrence, but remembers vividly. The next week, the Tigers took a 26-10 win over No. 3 Florida State.
The Seminoles victory began a four-game winning streak for the Tigers in which they won the games by a combined 108-point margin. That included a 63-17 victory over rival South Carolina in the Palmetto Bowl. Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, then a sophomore, tied a school record with four touchdown passes to go along with 302 yards on 18-for-26 passing in the contest.
Clemson finished the season ranked 22nd, which was the 20th year the program made the final AP Top 25.
Clemson 2010
Final record: 6-7
How it started: Back-to-back wins to open the season before suffering a three-game losing streak
How it finished: Lost three of the last four, which included a 31-26 defeat to South Florida in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte. Tied for fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 4-4 record
In summary: This is currently Dabo Swinney’s only losing season as a head coach and was his second full year at the helm of the Tigers’ program. The season had its fair share of drama with defensive lineman Jamie Cumbie being dismissed from the program after being arrested for assault. Prior to the season’s start, quarterback Willy Korn transferred to Marshall University with Kyle Parker being named the starting signal caller for a second straight season. For the 2010 campaign, Parker threw for 2,213 yards and 12 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, while backup Tajh Boyd recorded 329 passing yards. DeAndre Hopkins was the team’s leading receiver with 637 yards and four scores.
Clemson averaged 24 points a game, which ranked 86th in the country. The team’s defense allowed 18.8 points per outing, the 13th-best mark in the country, led by DeAndre McDaniel (76 tackles) and Da’Quan Bowers (15½ quarterback sacks).
In games decided by 10 points or less, the Tigers were 1-6. Each of their five other wins had margins of 14 points or more.
Clemson 2014
Final record: 10-3
How it started: Opened the season with a 45-21 loss to Georgia and had a 1-2 record after the first three games of the year
How it finished: Won the final three games, which included a 28-0 win over Georgia State, a 35-17 victory over South Carolina and a 40-6 Russell Athletic Bowl win over Oklahoma
In summary: Clemson finished second in the ACC, the last year before the Tigers began a string of conference titles. After starting 1-2, the group rattled off six straight wins, averaging 30.1 points per game in that span. That included a battle of quarterbacks in then-freshman Tiger Deshaun Watson and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson. As the underdogs, Watson and the Tigers won 23-17 at home.
Watson, who had won the starting job over Cole Stoudt, missed three games with a broken finger and ended up tearing an ACL later in the year but played through it in the win over South Carolina. Stoudt then accounted for three touchdowns in the bowl win. A Nov. 15 loss to Georgia Tech took the Tigers out of the AP Top 25, though the team made it up to No. 15 by the end of the season.
The Tigers’ defense only gave up 16.7 points per game, which was the third-lowest in the nation, and led the country in total defense, allowing only 260.8 yards a game in Brent Venables’ third season as the defensive coordinator.
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 5:40 AM with the headline "Clemson’s 4-3 start has evoked talk of 2003, 2010, 2014. Here’s a look at all three."
