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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 Tyler Smith/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tyler Smith/Getty Images) /

November 29, 2014

The 2014 season was about as up-and-down as it could get but they still managed to reach that 10-win mark. Deshaun Watson took the starting job away from Cole Stoudt in a loss to Florida State but went down with a broken thumb against Louisville.

The Cardinals were early into Bobby Petrino’s tenure and had a strong defense and a solid offense that featured Miami Dolphins receiver Devante Parker. Clemson went on to win the 23-17 without scoring a single offensive touchdown. Watson returned against Georgia Tech but left the game on their opening drive after tearing his ACL.

One hump that Clemson hadn’t been able to top since Swinney’s inaugural season was South Carolina. The Gamecocks hired legendary coach Steve Spurrier a season prior to Swinney’s hiring and led USC to one of the most successful runs in South Carolina history.

Despite having torn his ACL, it was announced that Watson would play against South Carolina. He wouldn’t have to do much as Wayne Gallman and Artavis Scott put up career games against the Gamecocks with a combined 386 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.

Clemson had finally regained prominence in the state of South Carolina and ended the five-peat that South Carolina held going into the contest. But that was not the end of the season for the Tigers, Watson had to have surgery on his ACL and Clemson had to face Trevor Knight and the Oklahoma Sooners.

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