You won’t believe how dominant Clemson has been on the road
By: will-vandervort June 27, 2018

When Clemson won 10 games and its first ACC Championship under head coach Dabo Swinney back in 2011, he said it was a good accomplishment, but “we have to go do it again.”

For the Clemson program to be taken seriously, it had to start proving it could win at a high level on a consistent basis. From 1992-2010, Clemson had some good football teams, but it could not maintain any kind of success. They traded a 9-win season with back-to-back 7-win seasons and the rut went on and on for nearly two decades.

In 2011, Clemson was 7-0 in Death Valley, the first undefeated home record in quite a while at the time. However, the Tigers were just 3-4 away from the friendly confines of Death Valley and Swinney knew that had to change.

“We have to be able to go on the road and win if we want to get this program were we want it to be,” he said.

The Tigers started doing just that in 2012. Clemson won neutral site games against a ranked Auburn squad and a top-10 LSU team. In 2013, it beat Ohio State in the Orange Bowl and in the following season knocked off Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

Clemson truly turned the corner in 2015 with neutral site wins over No. 8 North Carolina and No. 4 Oklahoma. In 2016, they hit the road and beat No. 24 Auburn, No. 12 Louisville and No. 12 FSU. They also had neutral site wins over No. 19 Virginia Tech, No. 2 Ohio State and of course No. 1 Alabama in the national title game.

The Tigers have become true road warriors. In true road games, they have won six straight, dating back to a 2014 loss at No. 24 Georgia Tech. Last year, they went 4-0 in true road games, winning at No. 14 Louisville, No. 12 Virginia Tech, No. 20 NC State and No. 25 South Carolina.

As this Tweet from Clemson Senior Associate Athletic Communications Director, Brian Hennessy, shows, Clemson is one of the best road teams in the country and the numbers are almost unheard of.

Since 2011, Clemson has recorded seven straight 10-win seasons, won three straight ACC Championships (four overall), advanced to the College Football Playoff three straight years, played for the national title in 2015 and ’16, and won it all in 2016.

It is safe to say Clemson is one of the more consistent programs in the country these days and they got there by being one of the best teams away from Death Valley.

 

Hot off the press. ‘Back with a Vengeance’ is now available for online orders.  TCI takes an in-depth look at the upcoming season as the Tigers march towards another national championship.  Order your copy today!