College football chaos helped Swinney remind No. 10 Clemson not to overlook Wake Forest

Updated Oct. 10, 2024 11:17 a.m. ET

Associated Press

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney got a little help from last week's college football chaos in reminding his 10th-ranked Tigers that no team is invincible.

It's a lesson he will put to use this week as Clemson goes to Wake Forest looking for its 16th straight win in the series.

The Tigers (4-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) have not lost to the Demon Deacons (2-3, 1-1) since 2008. That was the game that led to then-coach Tommy Bowden's firing and the hiring of Swinney, who got the job full time after the season and has beaten Wake Forest every season since.

Seems like the chance for some complacency to set in, right? Not after last week when No. 1 Alabama, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 10 Michigan and No. 11 Southern Cal all lost to teams they were expected to beat handily.

“Yeah, college football did us a favor,” Swinney said of the highly ranked defeats.

The Tigers, who've won nine of their past 10 games, continued their resurgence at struggling Florida State last week with a 29-13 victory.

It wasn't the sharpest performance Clemson's had this season, but it managed more than 500 yards and did more than enough on defense to keep the Seminoles off balance and off the scoreboard. If the Tigers can't keep it going at Wake Forest, Swinney knows it could cost the team its championship dreams.

“All we've done is create some opportunity for ourselves,” he said. “But we've got a long way to go.”

Making history

Wake Forest came from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to win at N.C. State, 34-30. It was the 10th time since 2017 the Demon Deacons have rallied from behind to win in the final period and and third time they had trailed by double digits and won. They came from 10 points behind to beat the Wolfpack in 2018 and from 11-points down to defeat Old Dominion in 2023.

“You just realize how thin the margin is between winning and losing,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. “We were on the right side of it. But that's OK, we were on the wrong side of a few of those. And then you move forward.”

Starting fast

Clemson emphasized getting off to faster starts this season and so far it's worked. The Tigers have outscored opponents 90-0 in the opening quarter — they were tied 0-0 with Georgia after the opening period — that has led them to take quick control in their four straight victories.

Getting his kicks

Clemson's struggles in the kicking game last year led to Swinney signing Nolan Hauser, who set the national high school record for field goals. So far, so good for Hauser, who had five field goals and accounted for 17 points in the victory over Florida State last week. He was named ACC specialist of the week. Hauser had made 10 of 12 kicks this season and 23 of 24 extra points.

Following Dabo?

Clawson admires what his counterpart, Swinney, has done in building a cohesive team that succeeds. Clawson has seen how transfers can affect a team.

“When (transfers) get a lot of money and don’t work out, don’t think that doesn’t cause issues in the locker room,” Clawson said.

Clawson added eight transfers this offseason, including starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier, who last played at Louisiana Tech.

End of the line for now

The expanded, 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference means this will be the last meeting between Clemson and Wake Forest until 2030. The teams have played each year since before the ACC was formed, a streak from 1935 through this year.

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