Even with anything significant out of reach for Clemson, there still is the mission to show it’s better than its record shows. The Tigers entered Saturday’s game against Notre Dame with the full intention of silencing their critics. They did just that, winning, 31-23, to improve to 5-4 and give Dabo Swinney the most victories in program history.
The Tigers had as much a target on their back as any team in college football. Not everyone understood all the reasons why they failed to live up to the preseason hype, but that didn’t stop all the mockery and criticism being thrown their way. Now, for at least one week, all of that can stop as they beat a team many probably felt they should have beaten before their downfall started.
Tigers fans might not celebrate a national championship this season, but they’ll be happy that their team rose to the challenge at hand. Here are a few Tigers fans expressing their happiness on social media: