Not so long ago, opposing teams just didn’t win in Clemson.

The Tigers won 40 straight at home at one point before South Carolina snapped that streak in 2022. Since then, Clemson hasn’t been so formidable at home. Going back to last season, Dabo Swinney’s team has lost four of its last six in Death Valley, including just a 1-2 record this season.

“Yeah, we’ve stunk. We have lost three of our last four games at home,” Swinney said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “I know last year was a different team, but this team has not done well.”

The Tigers get a chance at rewriting that narrative this week. After back-to-back blowout wins on the road, Clemson returns home to take on SMU in a rematch of last year’s ACC Championship Game.

“We really didn’t play well in any game until North Carolina. Collectively,” Swinney added. “We have had some players play well every week. It’s just been kind of like, tag you’re it. Just haven’t played well as a team.”

One of Swinney’s top goals when he took over as head coach was to make Death Valley one of the most intimidating environments in the country. And that he did.

However, the head coach will also be the first to admit that the standard in place has not been met this season. On Saturday, he’s hoping to see his team start a new streak and give the home crowd something to cheer about.

“That was a big goal of mine when I got this job because we weren’t a great home-winning team. We were good, but not great,” Swinney said. “And in my 17 years, we have been great. Not good, great. As of late, we’ve stunk, and we’ve got to get that turned around.”

“We’ve got to get back on track. That’s been a big disappointment to this point. Hopefully, we can start a new streak.”

Photo by Bart Boatwright