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Clemson football’s incredible journey to becoming Alabama’s equal

By Justin Heisey

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers celebrates his teams 44-16 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide with the trophy in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers celebrates his teams 44-16 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide with the trophy in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

January 3, 2014

After missing out on the ACC Championship Game due to an incredible season from Florida State’s Jameis Winston and a team that had 21 players drafted into the NFL and even more signed to NFL rosters, Clemson found themselves in the Orange Bowl as the ACC Atlantic runner-up.

With brutal memories of their most recent Orange Bowl against West Virginia in the back of the minds of the Clemson coaching staff, the expectation this go around was a win. With a similar roster but a different opponent, the Tigers had to win this game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes were led by legendary coach Urban Meyer who was one of the few active college football coaches with a championship ring and they had an all-time great Buckeye quarterback in Braxton Miller.

Despite a few hiccups along the way, Clemson proved once again that they could step up to the best and beat the best as they downed the Buckeyes 40-35 behind a career game from Tajh Boyd. He would be heralded as a Clemson treasure for years to come and it was fitting that he exit Clemson by contributing to the winning culture that the Tigers still holds this day.

The following offseason, Clemson would face their first big turnover as they had to find someone to replace an all-time great quarterback in Boyd, an all-time great receiver in Sammy Watkins and a 1,000-yard rusher in Roderick McDowell all at once. Who would be the answer?

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