Clemson Football: 11 biggest villains in Tiger history

COLUMBIA, SC - SEPTEMBER 26: Head coach Steve Spurrier of the South Carolina Gamecocks watches as his team takes on the University of Central Florida Knights during the second quarter on September 26, 2015 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages) /

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Nick Saban (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 2. Nick Saban

Though the hatred may have cooled off a little bit simply because Alabama didn’t make the CFB Playoff during the 2019 season, there’s no doubt that Nick Saban is one of the ultimate villains of the Clemson football program.

Saban is like the ‘ultimate mastermind’ who hides behind a curtain while the superhero continues to attempt to approach him.

The Tigers wanted to knock supervillain Saban off in 2015, but they simply couldn’t get the job done. That’s similar to how a superhero movie works, anyway. What we all wondered after that 2015 season, though, was if Dabo Swinney could somehow rebound and find a way to best Saban in a rematch.

He- and a team led by Deshaun Watson- did exactly that in 2016, knocking off the Crimson Tide 35-31 with a storybook ending. Though Alabama would go on to win the next year’s match-up, Clemson would come back with a vengeance and knock off the Crimson Tide 44-16 in the 2019 National Championship, perhaps delivering a knockout blow.

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