Tigers are not content with just getting in
By: will-vandervort December 5, 2016

In the three years the College Football Playoff has existed, only three schools have participated at least twice – Alabama, the defending national champions, Ohio State, the 2014 national champions, and Clemson, last year’s runner up.

That’s right, Clemson is one of those three teams as it was named the No. 2 seed in this year’s final four on Sunday. The Tigers will play No. 3 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

“It’s an incredible achievement,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “We really are still just soaking in winning the ACC Championship in back-to-back years. That hadn’t happened in 28 years around here, so that’s hard, and then to be recognized with an opportunity to be in the playoff back-to-back years, it’s a huge achievement.

“The only thing that would make it better would be to win it all. So, I’m proud of our guys. A lot of hard work has gone into it.”

Now that the Tigers (12-1) are finally in the playoff, the goal just isn’t to be content with getting in. The goal is to win it all because there is no guarantee if they will get this opportunity again.

The road to get back to the College Football Playoff was a bumpy one for Clemson. It overcame its first loss in more than two years against Pittsburgh three weeks ago, and in seven of its 13 games it won by seven points or less, including Saturday’s 42-35 victory over Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game.

“Last year’s team was incredibly driven and motivated to finish,” Swinney said. “We were the No. 1 seed going in last year, but this team came back with a different type of expectations on it coming off of a national championship appearance, and I think they’ve handled it well.

“We set out to compete right here where we are. It ended this way last year, and we’re going into the playoffs that way this year. So, at the end of the day, we know every play is a championship play from this point forward, and there is not a lot of room for error. So, we have to have great preparation and are excited about continuing our journey and competing.”