CLEMSON — In college football, they say, “You Always Remember November.”

They definitely do at Clemson, especially this past November.

Thanks to last Saturday’s win over rival South Carolina, Clemson finished 4-0 in November this year, and has now won 25 of its last 28 November games. If you do the math, that is eight years in which Clemson has pretty much dominated the month.

Most of the last eight years have come during the Tigers’ historical runs to two national championships and six College Football Playoff Appearances.

However, this year’s run will probably stand out a little more because no one, not even the most diehard Clemson fan, thought the Tigers would run the table when they were at 4-4 and staring at No. 12 Notre Dame coming to town, as well as Drake Maye and North Carolina’s high-flying offense.

But the Tigers ran all over the Irish on Nov. 4 before blowing out Georgia Tech on Nov. 11 and then stunning Maye and the Tar Heels on Nov. 18. Some felt, because they were playing in Columbia, Clemson might struggle against the Gamecocks on Nov. 25.

Though the offense was sluggish, at best, the Tigers’ defense was once again outstanding in limiting USC’s high-powered passing attack to a season-low 112 yards.

“You have to make a decision,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “Are you going to respond? Are you going to keep working? Are you going to keep showing up? Are you going to keep believing? Are you going to continue to choose to have a good attitude or are you going to pout and give up and stay down?

“The leadership on this team, it is inspiring to see these guys work. I am so happy for them.”

Through the years, Clemson has had some amazing “Novembers to Remember.”

Led by All-American tight end Bennie Cunningham, the 1974 Tigers became bowl eligible (7-4) by winning five of their last six games after a 2-3 start.

The 1988, ’89 and ’90 teams each won their last five games to reach 10-2 in those years, with the ’88 squad claiming the last of three straight ACC titles. The 1991 Tigers won their last six regular season games on their way to an ACC Championship, as well.

The 1995 Tigers won their last five regular season games to earn a Gator Bowl bid, while the most memorable finish to a season came in 2003.

After being blown out by Wake Forest (45-17) in Game 9, the 5-4 Tigers stunned No. 3 Florida State in Death Valley the very next week. At the time, it marked the highest-ranked team Clemson had ever beaten and it also snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Seminoles.

The Tigers used the momentum from the FSU win to blow out Duke and then rout the Gamecocks in a 63-17 victory in Columbia. Clemson closed out the year with a 27-14 win over No. 6 Tennessee in the Peach Bowl.

The end of the 2003 season is just known as “The Finish” in Clemson lore.

Clemson won four straight to close the 2005 season after a 4-4 start and won six straight to reach 10 wins following a 4-3 start in 2021.

One player (Jeremiah Trotter, Jr.) is already opting out for the bowl game, while backup quarterback Hunter Helms has entered the transfer portal. Likely, there are more to follow in the days and weeks to come, which will make winning this year’s bowl game extremely difficult.

But whatever happens in the bowl game, it will not damper what the Tigers accomplished in November.

“It has been fun to be a part of it,” Swinney said. “I wish we were in the (ACC) championship game again (this) week. We have been there a lot… This has been a great learning opportunity for our young players. Learn from this year and apply the lesson.”

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