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Clemson Football: Top 10 wins for the Tigers under Dabo Swinney

By Andrew Boardwine

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers reacts after the Clemson Tigers beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 31-0 to win the 2016 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers reacts after the Clemson Tigers beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 31-0 to win the 2016 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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TALLAHASSEE, FL – NOVEMBER 24: Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp shakes hands with Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher following a game at Doak Campbell Stadium on November 24, 2012 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL – NOVEMBER 24: Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp shakes hands with Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher following a game at Doak Campbell Stadium on November 24, 2012 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

2009/2011: “We will Rock You” wins over FSU

I know this is technically cheating, but I have to rope these two games in together. Anytime Clemson gets a win over Florida State it is a big deal.

However, back in 2009 and 2011, it was an especially big deal.

Florida State and Clemson emerged, basically from 2011 until the present, as the two prominent teams in the ACC Atlantic.

That meant for either of the teams to get to the ACC Championship game and beyond, they were going to have to beat the other. In 2009, an electrified Death Valley crowd sang “We will Rock You” to a rattled Florida State team. This video doesn’t even do the night justice.

In 2011, in an afternoon game nonetheless, Clemson did much of the same. The win in 2011 came the week right after the Tigers had beaten reigning national champion Auburn. The atmosphere in the stadium was as good as it gets both times and those wins were important stepping stones for the progression of the Tiger football program.

With those wins, Swinney proved that he was going to compete with the best and that he was going to find a way to beat the teams he needed to beat to achieve his overall goals.

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