CLEMSON, S.C. — Dabo Swinney added two prominent names to the list of coaching legends he has passed Saturday night.
Clemson's 22-7 win over Georgia Southern gave Swinney the 188th victory of his head coaching career, moving him past Joe Paterno and Urban Meyer for the fourth-most wins by a coach within the first 20 seasons of a head coaching career.
Swinney, now 188-54 at Clemson, trails only Tom Osborne (195), Nick Saban (191) and Bob Stoops (191) on that list. Even more notable, Swinney is only in his 19th season as Clemson's head coach and his 18th full season.
The milestone came as Clemson bounced back from its season-opening loss at LSU. The Tigers' defense forced eight three-and-outs against Georgia Southern, while Nolan Hauser tied his career high with five field goals in the victory.
Swinney entered the season with a 187-53 career record after taking over Clemson's program on an interim basis during the 2008 season.
His tenure has since included national championships in 2016 and 2018 and nine ACC championships.
Saturday's victory also brought Swinney within three wins of Saban and Stoops and seven of Osborne on the first-20-seasons list.
Clemson (1-1) returns to Memorial Stadium next Saturday to open ACC play against North Carolina. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on ESPN
