Dabo Swinney and Clemson Will Win the ACC's Atlantic Division Saturday

Clemson had just lost two games in a row. There was a respectable, but still disappointing loss to a very good TCU Horned Frogs teams. After that there was the inexplicable defeat at the hands of the ACC's worst team the Maryland Terrapins 24-21. It looked maybe like Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was in over his head. The Tigers were 2-3 overall and 1-2 in ACC, and it seemed like the same ole inconsistent team from Clemson.

The defense was pretty good, but the offense was struggling to the say the least. QB Kyle Parker's progress had stalled. Outside of Jacoby Ford the receivers were non-existent, and there was even talk of in-fighting between head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Billy Napier. Then something happened that I don't think many people expected, Clemson got on a roll, a really big roll.

An offense that had scored more 30 points only once in their first five games, now hasn't scored less than 38 in their last five games. C.J. Spiller a fringe Heisman candidate when the season started has moved himself into nearly everybody's Top Five Heisman list. Spiller has been spectacular during Clemson's run, and the Tigers are finding creative ways to get him the ball.He threw, ran, and caught a TD in Clemson's last game. T

he receivers are starting to make plays too. First TE Michael Palmer became more involved with the passing game, now WR Xavier Dye is also playing a big part of the offense. Dye's case is interesting as early in the year he was the verge of quitting the team, and Swinney convinced him to stay. Now Clemson is one victory away, winning the ACC Atlantic Division and the right to play the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for the ACC Championship. When things go wrong, the coach takes most of the blame, but when things go right the head coach gets most of the credit. In this case, head coach Dabo Swinney deserves a lot of credit.

Many felt Dabo Swinney was to inexperienced to lead a program like the Clemson Tigers, but he has handled the early adversity of the 2-3 start perfectly. The Tigers haven't lost since. I wasn't that surprised when Clemson went to Miami and won, or when they defeated Florida State. What did really prove to me that this was a different Clemson team from years past was the game at NC State. There was no let down after the big FSU win. The Tigers went to Raleigh and won by 20, 43-23. There's a focus on this team that was never seen during Tommy Bowden's tenure. With the ACC Atlantic Division in their sites, the Tigers didn't flinch, and they won't this weekend when they play the Virginia Cavaliers. They will win their first ACC football Title of any sort since 1991.

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