Consistency.
As human beings, we strive for consistency in life. When everything is maintained, there is a sense of comfort and well being that you can have. If there’s inconsistency, even daily activities can seem uneasy and uncomfortable.
The same can apply in the college football world.
A powerhouse program can seem dominant for a year or two, but if they lose their consistency, then they lose everything in a hurry.
It’s easy for programs to grasp for that top spot in college football, but to consistently sit at the top without stability can be like grasping at straws.
Examples were even made this past weekend of programs with consistency issues like Michigan’s home loss to rival Michigan State or Iowa State, as a 31-point underdog, planting a flag on Baker Mayfield’s home turf at Oklahoma.
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Since their 70-33 loss to West Virginia on Jan. 4, 2012, Clemson and Dabo Swinney are 66-9 for a winning percentage of 88%.
Some people may have called that “Clemson-ing” six years ago. Today, that term is far removed from the dictionary.
Meanwhile, Clemson has already been through those tough times where consistency was lacking on the field and ultimately led to their undoing. Now, this program has to fight the urge to get complacent on a week to week basis.
Heck, now it seems that some fans may even be bored of just plain winning, but that’s a different story.
The big story is that Clemson just won its 49th game of its last 50 against unranked opponents. Even with Clemson’s one loss to Pittsburgh during that span, the Tigers still were able to win the national championship that same season.
Here are some more notable streaks that Clemson is enjoying at the moment:
- A school-record eight consecutive wins against top 25 teams (longest active streak in FBS).
- 10-1 in top 15 matchups since 2015
- 12 consecutive wins on an opponent’s home field, longest in Clemson’s history.
- Clemson has won 37 of its last 39 games dating back to 2014.
- Clemson has won 26 of its last 27 and 43 of its last 46 at home.
- 20 wins in a row against the ACC Atlantic.
- 51 straight wins when holding the opposition to under 23 points.
The list goes on and on during these golden years of Clemson football.
How did Clemson go from a pretty good program to an excellent, national championship-winning program? Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott has had a front-row seat on Clemson's roller coaster for a long time.
“The number one thing that sticks out to me is Coach Swinney’s faith and belief in what his plan and what his vision (is), I mean he stuck with that the entire way through,” Scott said Monday. “Even though we went and lost a bad game to South Florida up in Charlotte, his message to our guys has been consistent.”
That game Scott eluded to took place back in 2010 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Clemson was a 5-point favorite against the Bulls from South Florida but lost 31-26. The Tigers finished that season 6-6, but Swinney remained consistent in his vision and the culture he was trying to create at Clemson.
Scott said that you could talk the talk and try to create a particular culture all you want, but that can only get you so far. Without putting that culture to work and getting some positive results, it is hard to sustain any success.
Then, the 2012 Chick-Fil-A bowl against LSU changed everything.
To me the LSU game, that was kind of like that first one, and then all of a sudden I think when you go back and look at our record since the loss in the Orange Bowl against West Virginia, it’s incredible.
- Jeff Scott
“To me the LSU game, that was kind of like that first one, and then all of a sudden I think when you go back and look at our record since the loss in the Orange Bowl against West Virginia, it’s incredible.”
He’s right. Since the 70-33 debacle against the Mountaineers, Swinney’s hardest pill to swallow as a head coach, Clemson is 66-9 with three ACC titles and one national championship.
Even when the Tigers left Miami with their tails between their legs, Swinney remained as consistent as ever.
As the number of wins continues to grow, so does the culture and mindset of the program under Swinney. His vision was not to make Clemson a contender for one year, but he wanted sustained success long-term. Scott remembered one particular moment when Swinney was thinking a short-term loss for a long-term gain.
“Whenever he suspended Sammy (Watkins) for the first two games, we’re all sitting there going, ‘Oh, everything kind of got worked out, and maybe we just suspend him for that first game or figure something out?’ And coach Swinney’s message to our staff was, ‘Hey guys, I’m not making this decision about one game. I’m making this decision about what’s best for our program long term.’ He’s always had this long-term approach with the decisions that he’s made.”
The last six years has been an impressive run of sustained success that Swinney always envisioned ever since he was named interim head coach almost nine years ago exactly. One big game win against LSU led to another big game win against Ohio State. And another. And Another.
It’s like climbing a ladder, and with every step, you grow faster, stronger, and the next step doesn't seem as high as the one before.
“I can remember how many years ago, four, five, six years ago, where we went into games, and man, ‘I really hope we can play well. I hope we can beat Florida State. I hope we can do this,’” Scott said. “Now our guys are going in and saying, ‘I have confidence that if we play to our standard, then we’re going to win this game.’ There’s a difference in playing from hope and playing from a side of confidence. I think it shows whenever we go out there on the field.”
In an age where regularity is hard to come by, Clemson’s consistency has created capable championship contenders.
