When No. 2 Clemson visits Alumni Stadium Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass., to take on No. 17 Boston College, it does so with an opportunity to make Atlantic Coast Conference history.
Since the league expanded in 2005 and broke its conference into two divisions, no team in the ACC has won four division championships in a row. The Tigers can accomplish that feat with a win at Boston College, while also punching their ticket to next month’s ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, N.C.
“That would be a great accomplishment, and it would be special for this group of seniors. They’ve accomplished so much already,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.
It would also mean the Tigers (9-0, 6-0 ACC) have accomplished their second goal of the season … winning the ACC’s Atlantic Division.
Clemson lists five goals at the start of each season: Win the opener, win the division, win the state, win the conference and win the closer.
The Tigers accomplished goal No. 1 in September with their win over Furman, and Saturday represents an opportunity for Clemson to secure goal No. 2. A division title would be Clemson’s seventh overall in that span, which would be the most division titles of any program in the ACC.
A win would also represent the 50th victory by the Clemson’s senior class, which would tie school and ACC records for wins by a senior class. Last year’s senior class currently holds the record.
More importantly, it would give the Tigers an opportunity to accomplish goal No. 4 on their list … win the conference. By the way, if they are able to do that, it will mark the first time in the ACC a program has won four straight conference championship games.
Clemson would also tie Florida as the only programs to win four straight conference championship games in a row in the conference championship era.
“It’s something that’s important to them, and it would mean we would have a chance to go to Charlotte and play for a fourth ACC title,” Swinney said. “You can’t win 12 until you win 10. You can’t win the ACC until you win the division.”
A victory would give Clemson its eighth consecutive 10-win season as well, tying Miami (1985-92) and Virginia Tech (2004-11) for the fourth-longest streak of 10-win seasons in FBS history.
The Tigers and Eagles kick off Saturday at 8 p.m. The game will be televised by ABC.