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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney came to Tallahassee for the first time as a head coach 16 years ago, with one career ACC victory to his name.
He left Tallahassee on Saturday night with the all-time record for ACC wins, passing Florida State coach Bobby Bowden with win No. 174, a 29-13 victory over the Seminoles. On a field named after Bowden no less.
Swinney reflected on that first game in his postgame news conference, noting he still has a picture hanging in his office of meeting Bowden at midfield.
“Never in my imagination would I think 16 years later we’d be sitting here having this conversation,” Swinney said. “I’m just thankful but honestly my name may be on the list, but ain’t nobody better than Bobby Bowden. That’s just a fact. He’s amazing, and honestly if I could just have half the impact on my players lives that Bobby Bowden had on his, then I would have lived a good life of purpose.”
Clemson won its fourth straight game behind quarterback Cade Klubnik (235 yards passing, two touchdowns) and running back Phil Mafah (154 yards rushing), rolling up 500 yards of offense for the third time this season. While the Tigers came into the game scoring 40 or more points in three straight games, their opportunities for touchdowns were limited by their red zone performance.
In five trips inside the 20-yard line, Clemson came away with four field goals. The Tigers also had two other field goal attempts blocked. Still, Swinney was happy to see his team grind out a win on the road. He noted, “We’re not a great team yet,” but will have an opportunity to be one if it continues to improve.
“You’ve got to create the consistency,” Swinney said. “You’ve got to keep going. We’ve won four games. That’s it. You ain’t gonna be a great team with four wins. You’ve got to keep going. If they’ve got the courage to continue, then we’ll have a chance. We’ve got the ingredients. We’ve got a really good quarterback playing at a high level, we’re playing well in the trenches, we’ve got some explosiveness, our special teams is showing up.
“We’ve got a chance. But we’ve just got to continue to stay hungry, stay humble, keep preparing the way we need to.”