CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Dabo Swinney learned last season how quickly a season can go sideways.
His Clemson Tigers were in need of a win Saturday.
Swinney's two decades as head coach in Death Valley have been filled with big moments, huge wins, conference championships and even national titles.
But Clemson's recent fall from college football's elite class coupled with his so-called stubbornness to adapt in the NIL/transfer portal era have brought out the critics
who contend the college game has passed him by, with some even contending that Clemson should consider buying out the remainder of his $57 million contract.
Swinney is not oblivious to the outside noise.
He hears it.
He knows the pressure.
Perhaps that's what made Saturday's 28-20 win over Bill Belichick and North Carolina — one in which the Tigers overcame a 14-point first half deficit and a 2 1/2-hour weather delay — so meaningful to him.
“I have been coaching since 1993 and there are certain moments in my career that I think about, whether at Alabama or here, that are etched in my mind that I will never forget them — and this will be one of those moments," Swinney said.
Swinney said his team showed an “unshakeable belief" in itself.
And he's right. They never gave up.
That can go a long way.
Had Clemson lost to North Carolina at home for the first time in 25 years a sky-is-falling scenario would have almost certainly engulfed the program, at least from the outside.
And doubt might have crept in.
This win, while certainly not against the strongest opponent, kept alive Clemson's chances of returning to the top of the ACC mountain after finishing seventh in the conference last season. Every loss in a 17-team conference can be devastating when only two get the right to play in the championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina, in December and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Make no doubt it, Belichick also needed a win — badly.
His NFL resume stands alone.
He won six Super Bowls as head coach in New England, but his two-year stint with the Tar Heels has been incredibly disappointing on the field and marred by investigations and staff resignations off it.
The Tar Heels started this season with two wins. Snapping a seven-game losing streak against Clemson surely would have provided some much-needed momentum.
Instead, the Tar Heels have a week to regroup before facing No. 3 Notre Dame on Oct. 3 in a game that potentially could make or break Belichick’s future in Chapel Hill.
“Every game is a learning experience," Belichick said. "Win or lose, we learn from all of them. Things we do well, we want to keep doing. Things we need to do better, we need to improve them. That’s all the way across the board. Players, coaches, everybody.”
Swinney said he feels for Belichick because he's been on the other side and experienced tough losses like Saturday. For the better part of the six-hour game it looked like North Carolina was the better team.
But on this day it was Swinney's Tigers who showed the tougher resolve down the stretch and walked away happy and hopeful.
Swinney said his players “grew up” on Saturday.
He said they showed the toughness and resilience that his staff has been looking for.
Whether that carries over to the remainder of the season remains to be seen.
The Tigers head West to face California on Friday night.
But at least for a week, the pressure surrounding the program has subsided.
“Those games are not fun to be part of, but if you're going to be a great team you have to win some like that,” Swinney said. “If you're going to be a great program you have to win some like that. Sometimes that is what it takes for a team to really grow and believe.”
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