Why Clemson has had so much success winning road games
Winning on the road in college football is incredibly difficult, at least for most teams. But that hasn’t been the case for Clemson in recent years.
The Tigers’ 47-21 win over Louisville was Clemson’s 11th consecutive road win dating back to a 2014 loss at Georgia Tech.
Some of Clemson’s road victories during that time include Auburn, South Carolina, Florida State, Miami and twice over Louisville.
Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said the success is due to the culture and mentality at Clemson.
“We celebrate. We have fun. We enjoy it. ‘What’s next?’ This is our 11th road win in a row. It’s a record since 1939. That’s a long time,” Swinney said. “It’s hard to win on the road. And we’ve won 11 in a row.”
Swinney added that another reason for Clemson’s success is its ability to quickly put the previous game in the past.
The Tigers faced a top 15 team in Auburn prior to traveling for another top 15 game against Louisville but had no hangover.
“Everybody takes a lot of pride in doing their best each and every week. If you have that mindset you’re going to establish some consistency in your program. It’s the same with our coaches,” Swinney said. “Last year we lost to Pittsburgh and the world was over- not for us. Back to work. It’s a culture and a mentality the guys buy into and that’s been in place for a long time. Try not to get too high, try not to get too low and we move on.”
Clemson is also 6-1 in games on a neutral field since 2014 with two wins over Oklahoma and victories over Ohio State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Alabama.
This story was originally published September 20, 2017 at 11:08 AM with the headline "Why Clemson has had so much success winning road games."