CLEMSON — For a second on Saturday, Dabo Swinney thought he was back in the 1993 Sugar Bowl. That was the the night he and his Alabama teammates defeated Miami to win the 1992 National Championship.

What brought Swinney back to nostalgia land was Avieon Terrell’s strip tackle on Citadel running back Johnny Crawford with 4:35 to play in the second quarter of No. 17 Clemson’s 51-14 win Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

On third down-and-five, from the Bulldogs’ 30 yard line, Crawford broke a run up the middle that went for 50 yards. However, Terrell never gave up on the play and caught The Citadel running back from behind.

It was very reminiscent of George Teague’s play against Miami’s Lamar Thomas in the 1993 Sugar Bowl. Like Thomas never saw Teague coming, Crawford never saw Terrell, who also like Teague, had the presence of mind to strip the football and recover the fumble.

Instead of The Citadel having a first down at the Clemson 20, Terrell gave the football back to an offense that already staked the Tigers to a 28-0 lead at the time.

“Everything starts with effort in our program. That is just a part of our foundation, great effort,” Swinney said. “If you are going to finish, well you have to strain and you have to put your heart into it. And that is what you saw on that play. You saw strain and you saw heart. It was awesome to see.”

This is not the first time a Clemson defensive back has made such a play under Swinney. Last year, former Tiger Nate Wiggins, who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens, chased down North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton and stripped the ball from him before he crossed the goal line to force a touchback on what should have been a long touchdown run for the Tar Heels.

“It is hard to coach that, you have to have a little something down inside of you in moments like that,” Swinney said. “It was just a great individual effort. Great technique to run him down, and not just tackle him, but to have the poise to strip it out of there.”

The line judge on the play called the ball down and said the ground caused the fumble. However, replay overturned the call on the field when it was clear evidence Terrell stripped the ball from Crawford before the two went to the ground.

Terrell rolled over with the ball in his hand and ran towards the Clemson sideline to celebrate.

“I am glad they got it right because originally they did not get it right, so I am glad they got it right,” Swinney said.