Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney jokes that members of the media had their stories ready for the scenario in which the Tigers lost to South Carolina this year – which would have meant Clemson’s third loss in the last four meetings against the Gamecocks.

Instead, Swinney’s team defeated South Carolina, 28-14, on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, giving the Tigers their ninth win over the last 11 games in the series.

Clemson also notched a sixth straight road win against South Carolina for the first time since the 1989-99 seasons.

“I know everybody likes to give me math lessons around here,” Swinney said during his postgame press conference. “That’s nine out of 11. That’s nine out of 11. Y’all was all ready for the three out of four. Y’all couldn’t wait. Y’all already had them articles written. That’s nine out of 11, and that’s six in a row down here [in Columbia].”

The reigning ACC Champion picked to repeat, Clemson entered this season ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Poll with national championship aspirations, but the Tigers lost three of their first four games and quickly saw their title hopes vanish.

However, after going 3-5 through eight games, Clemson (7-5) has reeled off four straight wins to end the regular season.

“I’m really proud of our guys and just their heart, their belief in what they set out to do when we kind of reset our goals on the season in where we were, and they’ve accomplished those things,” Swinney said. “So, really proud of them.”