Clemson Tigers Boss Ties ACC Legend, Mentor With Stanford Win

Dabo Swinney can pass one of his ACC mentors if the Clemson Tigers beat the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday.

Sep 21, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Cole Turner (22) celebrates with head coach Dabo Swinney after scoring a touchdown against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers put together another impressive victory on Saturday, as they defeated the Stanford Cardinal, 40-14 in their first ACC meeting since Stanford joined the conference.

The wind had special meaning for head coach Dabo Swinney, as he won the 173rd game of his career, all with the Tigers. In doing so, he tied one of his coaching mentors for the most wins in ACC history with one school — Florida State legend Bobby Bowden.

Swinney can pass Bowden in Clemson’s next game on Saturday at Florida State.

Bowden, who died in 2021, is one of college football's coaching legends. He finished with a record of 377-129-4, in a career that spanned his debut with West Virginia in 1970 to his long, successful tenure with Florida State from 1976-2009.

While leading the Seminoles he won two national championships and 12 ACC championships.

Swinney's career is also intrinsically tied to the Bowden family. He joined Tommy Bowden’s staff at Clemson in 2002. Tommy, one of Bobby’s sons, led the Tigers until midway through the 2008 season when he resigned after six games.

Swinney was elevated to interim head coach. He told ESPN before Saturday's game that the first phone call he received after taking over as the interim coach was from Bobby Bowden. He also said that he keeps a voicemail from Bobby Bowden on his phone for sentimental reasons.

Just as Bobby Bowden elevated Florida State, Swinney has elevated Clemson’s football profile immeasurably. While the Tigers won a national championship under Danny Ford in 1981, Swinney has led the program to unprecedented success.

Since he took over, the Tigers won two national titles in 2016 and 2018, eight ACC titles — including a stretch of six in a row from 2015-20 — and 10 ACC Atlantic Division titles. He's been named coach of the year by several different organizations, including a three-time recipient of the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award.

The Tigers are coming off a 9-4 season in 2023, which is a disappointment by the standard Swinney has set. Along with the national championships and the conference titles, the Tigers had won 10 or more games for 12 consecutive seasons before last year.

He has Clemson off to a great start this year, as the Tigers are tied for the conference lead and have bounced back from a season-opening shellacking at the hands of then-No. 1 Georgia.

Along with tying Bowden, Swinney became the first Tigers coach in history to win 100 home games.