By Will Vandervort.

Before the season even began Vic Beasley told the media at the ACC Football Kickoff back in July that the best defense in the country resided in Clemson.

Though those in attendance respected what the Tigers had coming back and thought they could possibly be one of the elite defenses in the country, few thought they could actually be the best.

“Just the belief and knowing the commitment we put in during the spring and summer and having a chip on our shoulders, I knew that if we continued to play the way we had been playing that we would have a chance to be the top defense in the country,” Beasley said.

And that’s exactly what has happened.

In fact the Tigers are not just the No. 1 defense in all the land, they are the No. 1 defense with an exclamation point. Clemson finished the year allowing just 260.8 yards per game, nearly 18 yards less yards per game than second place Penn State (278.7).

The Tigers (10-3) put the cherry on top with one of the most dominating defensive performances in Clemson’s long bowl history. From start to finish, the Tigers dominated the Oklahoma offense, limiting the Sooners to a season-low in yards and points, while also forcing five turnovers.

Clemson picked off Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight three times, including a pick-six by linebacker Ben Boulware. It was a performance that was every bit as reminiscent and dominant as the 1990’s defensive effort against Illinois in the 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl.

That afternoon—just down the road from Orlando in Tampa—the Tigers beat the Illini 30-0 and also had an interception return for a touchdown – a 34-yard score by defensive back Arlington Nunn. It was fitting that this bowl victory and the defense’s performance was similar to what happened 24 years ago.

It seems like this defense has been compared in about every way to that 1990 defense, which had future NFL stars on the roster by the name of Levon Kirkland, Ed McDaniel, Chester McGlockton, Wayne Simmons and James Trapp to name a few.

“I would just say that I’ll let everybody else do the comparison, but they’re the best right now,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “They’re the best in the nation. And they’re great people. There was a time where these guys were inexperienced and had to grow up and all that, and now you look back and 42 wins in four years. And that 1990 group was the last time Clemson was number one in defense and they broke all their records. And not only more wins but the most ranked wins ever in a four-year period. And then, ironically, this is the largest margin of victory in a Bowl game. And they beat that 1990 record.

“So they don’t like these guys,” Swinney continued with a laugh. “They’ll scratch them off their Christmas list. But this is a special group. We can argue about who is the most talented, but collectively as a group, this was a fun group of guys to come and work with every day.”

They were fun to watch too. No defense gave up fewer yards since Week 1 than the Clemson defense. No defense is ranked in the top 10 in 19 different categories. Clemson is the only school to be ranked in the top five in total, rushing, passing and scoring defense.

“It really was just a special group of guys, the way we come together,” defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. “You know, I talked to a guy from that ’90 team and they have a number of good things to say. And we’ve proven ourselves to be a force in the nation. But, honestly, it’s really just about this team and the love we have for one another and all the hard work we put in. And, you know, you never really know what’s going on behind the scenes.

“But to know we’re working with coaches that honor us as men and as players, it’s just been truly an honor to be a part of this.”

Safety Robert Smith doesn’t know exactly where they should rank in Clemson history, but he does know they should be ranked somewhere near the top.

“I feel like we are right up there,” the senior said. “It has been since 1990 since they had the No. 1 defense. We broke a lot of those records. I’m not going to be that person who says we were the best defense to come through Clemson, but I think we are right up in the top three to ever come through Clemson.

“The things we did this year. Being No. 1 is a great accomplishment for us and it was something we strived for at the beginning of the year. Vic said it at the beginning of the year to the ACC media. He knew what we had here. He was confident and he knew we could do it.”

And they did with an exclamation point.