This is Dabo Swinney’s favorite time of the year. The Clemson head coach is all about celebrating the Christmas Season as he hosts his annual Christmas Party, decorates his house on the inside and out and has a special Christmas Day with his family each year before the Tigers head to their bowl destination, which for the second year in a row will be a trip to the College Football Playoff.

Swinney’s second-ranked Tigers will play No. 3 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Since 2011, this is the fifth New Year’s Six or BCS Bowl game the Tigers have played in. They have a combined 68-13 record during that stretch, which includes six straight 10-wins seasons.

The 68-wins and six 10-win seasons are second only to Alabama, and like the Holiday Season, Swinney says he is enjoying every ounce of it.

“That is one thing I promised myself. I’m going to enjoy it,” he said. “It is hard to win. All you can do is do your best and put everything you got into it. We have done that. There ain’t any doubt about it, and we are going to continue to do that. We are not going to be defined by the scoreboard.”

And he is right. The Clemson football program is considered one of the best both on the field and in the classroom. In fact, the Tigers rank second in the College Football Playoff Rankings and in the NCAA’s Academic Performance Review.

The motto in Clemson’s football program is “The Best is the Standard” in everything they do.

“That has always been my thing. Be more defined with how we do things. The type of effort and commitment that I see … that is my true measuring stick,” Swinney said. “I certainly, want to make sure everybody else enjoys it, too. That is one of the reasons why we structure things around here. I don’t want guys to dread coming over here. I want them to be excited about coming to work. We have a good balance.

“It does not get any better than this.”

And for all of their hard work, the Tigers are rewarded with another trip to the College Football Playoff where it will try to win the school its first national championship in 35 years. They are also rewarded with a great bowl trip to Glendale, Arizona, the site of the Fiesta Bowl.

While in Arizona prepping for the bowl game, the Tigers will take in a Phoenix Suns game as well as all the other things the city of Phoenix has to offer, while Swinney’s kids and the other coaches’ kids will go see the Grand Canyon.

“It is fun to see these guys get to experience different things together as a team and the relationships. That’s what it is all about,” said Swinney. “That is why I love the bowl trips and I always have. That’s what people don’t see. It is so much more than the game. It’s the time that these guys get to spend with each other, and for a lot of these guys, it will be the last significant time they will get to spend with each other because they have to move on. They will all be going different ways. They will be busy. They have lives and we all know how that goes.

“It is a special thing to be a part of and I definitely enjoy it.”

—Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports