Division-champ Tigers have goals to meet

CLEMSON — CONGRATULATIONS, NO. 15 Clemson, you've just won that elusive conference division title.

What are you going to do next - focus solely on next week's trip to the ACC championship in Tampa, Fla.? "If you can't get up for (the USC game), you shouldn't be at Clemson," senior receiver Jacoby Ford said.

Having spent another season building up to that breakthrough Atlantic Division crown, will Clemson treat Saturday's noon showdown in Columbia with due reverence?

Especially when the revenge match against No. 7 Georgia Tech offers the chance for the program's first ACC title since 1991.

This team has prided itself in maturing beyond the self-defeating tendencies of its predecessors.

That means no more uninspired losses to INSERT UNDERDOG HERE whenever Clemson is meets prosperity. Even in the Maryland debacle, the effort was there.

"We've been hearing about emotional letdowns for seven straight weeks," senior tight end Michael Palmer said.

The Tigers have won six in a row.

Furthermore, it's not as if Clemson should be emotionally spent.

Clinching the division title before the Virginia kickoff seemingly robbed the game of that cathartic release.

There were some poignant congratulatory moments, but even a few players expressed surprise about their moderate joy.

Does a meeting with the Gamecocks rank among the team's season goals?

Examine the list, which is posted by one entrance to the team's meeting room:

1. Win the opener (check)

2. Win the Atlantic Division (check)

3. Win the state championship

4. Win the ACC championship

5. Win the bowl game

Here's betting the 49-3 clubbing of Coastal Carolina on Halloween doesn't qualify to mark off No. 3.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is fond of noting he deals in reality, not perception. The reality is that perception matters as it relates to the rivalry.

Tommy Bowden's tenure probably does not last nearly a decade without his 7-2 record against USC, including wins from 2002-05. Last year's 31-14 romp in Death Valley certainly gave athletics director Terry Don Phillips the license to promote Swinney, formerly the receivers coach, into the full-time gig.

Combine that awareness with the notion Swinney's greatest coaching attributes appear to be his motivational skill and ability to relate to players, and it's hard to fathom the Tigers won't be prepared.

If the Tigers stumble in the ACC title game as well as against USC, it is staring at playing in a lower-tier postseason contest than last year's Gator Bowl, which picks second among the ACC's BCS leftovers.

Should Clemson fail to reach the Orange Bowl, the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta would likely select between the Tigers and No. 14 Virginia Tech, which will probably be riding a four-game winning streak into the postseason.

Two season-ending losses could slash Clemson's curb appeal, especially if UNC remains on a roll as well.

That Atlantic Division trophy looks sparkling now, but imagine the luster it might lose positioned in the case next to a Champs Sports Bowl or Music City Bowl souvenir.

"We just want to win the game because it's important for this program," Swinney said.