The Clemson football program saw plenty of success during 2019. Here’s a look at 10 of the best moments for the Tigers during the year.
The Clemson football program never lost a game during the 2019 calendar year.
The Tigers finished 2019 with a 29-game winning streak as a program and are in position to potentially win another National Championship as a result.
As we look forward to 2020, here’s a glance back at 2019 for Clemson football with the 10 best moments for the Tigers during the year.
10. Isaiah Simmons’ statement to the nation
Isaiah Simmons made a statement to the rest of the nation early during the 2019 season when the Tigers absolutely blew out the Syracuse Orange up in New York.
Clemson actually came into the game on ‘upset alert,’ according to many analysts, but it didn’t take long to see that the Tigers were going to completely dominate the match-up.
The star of the night, though, was Clemson football linebacker Isaiah Simmons.
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Simmons totaled 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, putting the rest of the nation on alert. Clemson would go on to win the game 41-6 and it was certainly a moment to enjoy for Tiger fans early in the season.
9. Travis Etienne’s record-setting run
It took Travis Etienne less than 10 minutes into the 2019 Clemson football season to break a Death Valley record for the longest touchdown run.
Etienne took the ball 90 yards for a touchdown against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Of course, that touchdown would be foreshadowing for things to come. Etienne would go on to break the ACC record for career rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns in 2019 and enters the 2020 calendar year needing just seven rushing yards to break the Clemson football all-time rushing record.
8. ‘Go get them orange pants on’
On November 9, 2019, Dabo Swinney made a statement to his team that officially vaulted them into the ‘Championship Phase.’
As Clemson took the field for pregame warm-ups in Raleigh against NC State, they were set to wear white pants. However, Wake Forest lost and that opened up the door for Clemson to clinch the ACC Atlantic Division with a win against the Wolfpack. For those wondering, the Tigers only wear orange pants for championship games.
Swinney pulled his team in a huddle and told them to ‘get them orange pants on.’
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With the win over the Wolfpack, the Tigers clinched the ACC Atlantic Division.
One of the greatest moments of the season also happened in this very game. OL John Simpson scored a touchdown, which struck joy in the hearts of Clemson football fans everywhere.
7. Dabo Swinney’s epic ranting
Dabo Swinney wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, especially as things came down the stretch during the 2019 season.
Swinney called out the media for showing bias against Clemson, talked about the disrespect towards the Tigers, defended his players when they weren’t finalists for individual honors and even fired back at Paul Finebaum after Finebaum called Swinney the “most annoying winner in all of sports” and that Swinney “needs a pacifier.”
Swinney did an excellent job continuing to defend his team and stating his case to the CFB Playoff committee even when the Tigers were overlooked in the first poll.
6. The two-point conversion stop
The CFB Playoff appearance doesn’t happen without the season-saving two-point conversion stop in the game against UNC.
Clemson was blasted all season long for only beating the Tarheels 21-20 up in Chapel Hill, but the key thing to remember is that it was a win.
A loss likely would’ve left the Tigers out of the playoff field, but the defense stood strong with 1:17 remaining on a two-point conversion attempt from UNC to maintain the winning streak and come away with the victory.
5. Beating South Carolina again
Who doesn’t love beating your in-state rival?
Well, Clemson football fans were six years younger the last time the Tigers lost to the Gamecocks. Dabo Swinney’s club went into Williams-Brice Stadium this past November and methodically put away South Carolina.
Clemson came out with a 38-3 victory, but the game really wasn’t even that close.
The defense absolutely smothered the Gamecocks and the Tigers set the cruise control in the second half on their way to their sixth-straight win over South Carolina.
4. Five-straight ACC Championships
Clemson football fans seem to overlook the importance of conference championships, but this was a feat that absolutely should be celebrated.
Clemson absolutely demolished Virginia by a score of 62-17 on its way to its fifth-straight ACC Championship.
Tiger fans had the opportunity to watch Dabo Swinney and his team hoist the trophy in Charlotte and this was the game that officially clinched a spot in the CFB Playoff for Clemson.
It may be overlooked, but it certainly is one of the greatest moments of 2019.
3. Nolan Turner’s interception
There’s so much intrigue and passion in a redemption story.
Nolan Turner had been beaten in coverage or in the open field several times when the Tigers matched up with Ohio State in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl.
The most prominent, though, came on a 4th-and-2 play where Ohio State threw a pass to a wide-open Chris Olave– who was supposed to be covered by Turner- for a touchdown to take a 23-21 lead in the fourth quarter.
Clemson went on a legendary 4-play, 94-yard drive with a little over a minute left in the game and the Tigers retook the lead 29-23. Ohio State answered, though, driving all the way down to the Clemson 23-yard line.
What happened next was a redemption story.
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OSU QB Justin Fields threw a pick in the end zone to none other than Nolan Turner. Turner clinched the win for the Tigers- just as Dabo Swinney said he would- and celebration ensued.
2. The Fiesta in Arizona
Yes, Nolan Turner’s interception was absolutely one of the greatest moments of 2019, but how about the entire Fiesta Bowl and the celebration that ensued afterward?
Clemson football fans felt completely hopeless for much of the first half as they watched their team fall behind 16-0- and it could’ve been more.
You couldn’t have dreamt up a more dramatic, satisfying ending to a game for Clemson football fans out in Glendale.
The win was one of the best in school history and clinched a spot in the National Championship game for the Tigers for a fourth year in the past five seasons.
1. 44-16 blowout
You didn’t think we were going to forget about the National Championship victory that happened in 2019, did you?
When you look at the calendar year 2019, things don’t get much better than beating Alabama 44-16 out in Santa Clara.
The Tigers absolutely dominated the Crimson Tide and the game, in many ways, showed a changing in the tides for the hierarchy of College Football.
Clemson football fans still cherish that win to this day and it’s going to be one to celebrate for quite some time in the future.