Clemson Tigers football: Ranking the 5 best seasons in program history
Ranking the best Clemson football seasons in program history, which has become a powerhouse under Dabo Swinney and some prolific quarterbacks.
Clemson football has not always been the elite powerhouse that current head coach Dabo Swinney has built them into while bringing in many of the greatest players in the history of the program. To be sure, the Tigers have always been a successful program but they had just one National Championship to their credit prior to Swinney’s arrival.
Now entering his 12th season coaching home games in Death Valley, Swinney has led Clemson Football to five of the six College Football Playoffs since that format’s inception and has captured two National Championships and two National Runners-Up in that time. But the question is, does Swinney have a monopoly on the greatest seasons in Tigers history?
It may not be a complete sweep but it’s close. Let’s see which teams make the cut for the greatest seasons in Clemson football history.
5. 2019 Clemson football season
Record: 14-1 | Finish: National Runners-Up, Lost to LSU 42-25 in CFP National Championship
Early in the 2019 season, there were a ton of questions that started swirling about the Clemson Tigers. After the loss of several key defensive starters, the defense was seemingly uninspired. But perhaps more troubling was the fact that wunderkind quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the Tigers offense were seemingly sleepwalking through every game. In fact, that almost caught up to them against Mack Brown’s Tar Heels, who almost pulled off a miraculous upset.
Rather than prove the Tigers were pretenders, however, it lit a fire under that team. They went on a tear against an admittedly favorable schedule and beat every opponent into submission. The big question, though, was whether or not that would stop for Lawrence, Travis Etienne and the high-powered offense whenever the level of competition increased.
Virginia was no real test for them in the ACC Championship Game but Ohio State indeed was. Early on, it seemed as if all the Clemson doubters were proven right as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 16-0 lead. However, the Tigers pulled within two by halftime and, thanks to two clutch second-half touchdown passes from Lawrence to Etienne, won a thriller for a date with LSU.
Unfortunately, Clemson was no match for the other Tigers as Joe Burrow and LSU continued one of the most dominant offensive seasons in college football history to top Dabo Swinney’s group. However, losing to an all-time great team shouldn’t discredit just how dominant and great this iteration of Clemson football was.