Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

Commentary: Tigers show new-found swagger

CLEMSON -- A GRIN CAME OVER JUNIOR safety DeAndre McDaniel's face, just like the smile he flashed after intercepting Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder in the waning minutes of Saturday's 40-24 victory.

In explaining what happened next, McDaniel could have taken the safe route and claimed to have pointed at Ponder the way ball-carriers do when they're showing nearby teammates whom to block.

Uh-uh.

The swashbuckling McDaniel, a lifelong fan of his hometown Seminoles, acknowledged that he playfully called his shot - as Ponder represented the last line of defense between McDaniel and the end zone.

Both lowered their shoulders, and McDaniel plowed Ponder into the ground at the FSU 5, setting up C.J. Spiller's game-capping touchdown with 3:29 remaining.

McDaniel rose and celebrated; Ponder suffered a right (throwing) shoulder injury and reportedly will miss the rest of the season.

"I just wanted to make a statement," McDaniel said afterward. "The best man was going to win. He was coming at me, and I saw him coming, so I knew there was going to be a collision."

The 40-37 overtime triumph at then-No. 8 Miami three weeks ago represents the turning point for Clemson's season - and possibly its program - if the 24th-ranked Tigers (6-3, 4-2) can win their final two ACC games and play for their first league title since 1991. That contest marked the breakthrough for Clemson "learning" how to win big games, a trait it lacked in previous one-play-away seasons.

But regardless of how Clemson's title quest takes shape, McDaniel's Babe Ruth blast may be the signature moment of Dabo Swinney's first full season as coach, embodying the psychological transformation the Tigers have undergone under his direction.

No one disputes that the Tigers did a lot of good things during Tommy Bowden's decade-long tenure. But when it came time for a figurative or literal collision, Clemson resembled a vaudeville performer taking a cannonball to the gut.

Virginia Tech exposed Clemson's fragility in a 2006 Thursday night game in Blacksburg, Va., that permanently knocked that year's Tigers off their high horse. It manifested again in 2007 when the Hokies deflated Clemson in Death Valley.

Then last season, Alabama knew it could bully the Tigers around and did, and Maryland smelled fear in overcoming an 11-point halftime deficit to embarrass Clemson. After that game, Terps linebacker Alex Wujciak said coaches told them "if we hit them in the mouth, they're going to fold."

Swinney's Tigers committed more than their share of penalties and blunders that could have lost the game against Miami and FSU. And they still have flaws, as shown in losses to No. 4 TCU and No. 7 Georgia Tech.

But this team has repeatedly shown it punches back.

It starts with Swinney, the personification of Clemson's renewed swagger.

There are both fiery and calming sides to Swinney's sideline temperament, and contrary to his predecessor, he shows no signs of wilting under the heat of the situation. In turn, the Tigers have fallen in step and developed mental and physical toughness.

It's hard to imagine FSU coach Bobby Bowden will return next season, as Saturday's defeat likely condemns the Seminoles (4-5) to no better than a 6-6 regular-season record with No. 1 Florida still on the schedule.

The irony is that Bowden's fate was likely sealed by a team his son assembled.

Swinney was the batteries that weren't included.

"We've talked a lot about believing," Swinney said. "Since my first meeting with these guys when I first got the job, I've walked in with a sign that says, 'Believe.'

"I've never had a meeting since where I haven't brought that sign in here, trying to build a mentality with these kids that they can do something special."

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