Looking at the Clemson Tigers' First Season Under Dabo Swinney

Dabo Swinney had quite a few critics when he was named the Clemson head coach last year. I would include myself as someone who was skeptical.

Back at the end of November, I'd already felt that Swinney had proven his critics wrong .

If you throw in Clemson's 21-13 Music City Bowl victory over the Kentucky Wildcats to finish the season at 9-5, which included an ACC Atlantic Division Title, then Clemson fans have to feel pretty good about how the season went.

What went right, what went wrong, and how does the future look for Clemson?

What went right?

Winning the Atlantic Division was the Tigers first ACC football title of any sort since 1991. Dabo Swinney won nine games, which is as many as Tommy Bowden ever won in a season.

The bowl win was the first for Clemson since 2005. C.J. Spiller finished sixth in the Heisman balloting, and was generally regarded as the country's most exciting player.

After a midseason heated conversation with offensive coordinator Billy Napier following a loss to Maryland, Swinney and Napier made nice adjustments to the offense. Lacking playmaking wide receivers outside of Jacoby Ford, they threw more to TE Michael Palmer and C.J. Spiller. They got Andre Ellington more involved running, and WR Xavier Dye stepped up late in the year.

DeAndre Mcdaniel set a Clemson record with eight interceptions and was exceptional at safety all year.

What went wrong?

There was little doubt that the Maryland Terrapins were the ACC's worst team. They won only one game and it was over the Clemson Tigers. Though the Tigers made strides, they still exhibited some of the same schizophrenic play that marked the Bowden era. They lose to Maryland, but go on the road to beat a top-10 Miami squad.

The defense that started the season so well began to struggle late in the year. They gave up 71 points against South Carolina and Georgia Tech in their final two regular season games and were hurt in particular by mobile quarterbacks.

What about the future?

The Tigers lose some of their best offense players C.J Spiller, Michael Palmer, and Jacoby Ford. QB Kyle Parker may opt to play major league baseball, which would open door for the talented but inexperienced QB Tajh Boyd.

In his postseason interview, Dabo Swinney said players like WR's Marquan Jones, Jaron Brown, and Xavier Dye would need to fill the shoes of the departed offensive players.

Check out all of Swinney's interview at Tigernet.com.

It appears McDaniel may be leaning to returning, which would be a big bonus to the Tiger defense.

Recruiting seems to be going pretty well. Clemson already has 20 verbal commitments for 2010. Scout.com has the Clemson class currently ranked 22nd in the nation.

The rest of the Atlantic is down.

Maryland is a complete mess. Wake Forest loses Riley Skinner, and NC State hasn't won more than six games in a season in years. Florida State will be in transition with Jimbo Fisher taking over full-time. They will still be coming off a season that saw them lose 6 six regular season games.

Boston College is always sound and competes hard, but they don't have the athletes to run away with the division. If Mark Herlizch can come back and be anywhere near the player he was, the Eagles will be a threat.

There are a couple of good teams in the Atlantic, but no great teams. Clemson has the talent and now the confidence to contend for an Atlantic division next year. On paper they will be pre-season first or second in the division even with the loss of C.J. Spiller.

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