SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It was about this time in 2010 when Dabo Swinney said “this is about to be the best decade in Clemson history.”

At the time, though fans wanted to believe it, but most did not. But Swinney believed it and as we have all learned that is all that matters.

Clemson has a 116-22 record in the decade of the 2010s. That computes to an .840 winning percentage, the best for any decade in school history and the first time Clemson has won more than 80 percent in a single decade.

In the 1980s, Clemson had a .767 winning percentage (87-25-4), the nation’s fifth-best winning percentage. Clemson did not have a losing season in any year in the 1980s under Danny Ford, who coached every game in that decade.

Swinney has coached every game in the decade of the 2010s, and with Clemson clinching another winning season in 2019, will finish the decade with nine winning seasons and one losing season (6-7 in 2010).

What does Swinney predict for this coming decade?

“Yeah, I would say my prediction is the best is yet to come, as I always say, because that’s just what I believe,” he said. “I believe the best is always yet to come. Just my mindset. It is kind of crazy, though, to think that today is our last Friday practice of this decade.”

Clemson is of course going to end the decade playing in the Fiesta Bowl against No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday.

“We’ve had a lot of Friday practices since 2010, and a lot of guys have come and gone. I’m just glad I’m still here,” Swinney said. “There’s been probably a lot of money bet on me not being here back in 2010, but we’re here. And just grateful and blessed to see this decade come to an end. And next time we get out on the field, regardless of what happens in this game, it will be a new decade in 2020.

“Look forward to the next ten years. So, ask me that question in ten years. It will be fun to review.”

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