Mack Brown says Clemson wins because of commitment to football

UNC coach Mack Brown has plenty of respect for Clemson's Dabo Swinney. (Photo: Neil Redmond / USATODAY)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Nov 30 07:00:06 GMT-04:00 2022

North Carolina head coach Mack Brown says Clemson is the gold standard in the ACC and he thinks his Tar Heels will have their hands full Saturday night in Charlotte.

After Clemson's six-year streak of ACC titles ended in 2021, the No. 9 Tigers will attempt to reclaim the conference crown and earn their seventh title in eight years when they face the No. 23 North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2022 ACC Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 3. Kickoff at Bank of America Stadium is set for 8 p.m. ET.

Brown detailed why he thinks Clemson is almost always in the conversation.

"They've got one of the strongest commitments to football in the country," Brown said Monday night. "They've got an unbelievable fan base, their facilities are fantastic. They recruit really, really well. They got a lot of guys on their team we recruited, we don't have many on our team they recruited. It looks like an NFL defense. I mean, they're just unbelievable how big and fast they are. We'll have our hands full."

Brown said to be the best, you have to beat the best.

"This is another step," Brown said. "Can we compete with the best? They're the best in the league. And they've been the best in the league. And they're the best in the league again this year, they're better than everybody else in our league. The rest of us have competed and played and come down to that final play or two, and they separated themselves."

A win Saturday would be Clemson's eighth ACC Championship Game victory since the ACC instituted the conference championship game (and divisional format) in 2005, including a win in a division-free year in 2020. An eighth conference title would tie Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney with College Football Hall of Famer Frank Howard (eight, including six ACC titles) for the most conference championships in Clemson history. A win would also make Clemson the first team in an active Power Five conference to win seven outright conference titles in an eight-year span since Alabama won eight outright SEC titles in nine years from 1971-79.

“Clemson has been the standard in the ACC for many years,” Brown said during Sunday’s ACC Coaches Teleconference. “When I was here before, it was Florida State. Florida State was in the national picture every year. I think Coach (Bobby) Bowden had fourteen straight years of being in the top 4. So, all the rest of us were second and and below.

“That has pretty much what Clemson has been. Last year, it changed a little bit, but Dabo (Swinney) has done an amazing job of getting his team back this year and being in the national picture.”

Clemson hasn’t been back to the College Football since 2019, missed the ACC Championship Game last season, and lost to a mediocre South Carolina team Saturday. Brown is still amazed at what Swinney and the Tigers have accomplished.

“I went through a similar number of years at Texas that Dabo has gone through at Clemson now,” Brown said. “He is 160-37 as the head coach at Clemson. Second winningest program since 2015 with 99 wins. He has won two national championships. They have appeared in the College Football Playoff six times. Seven seasons with at least eleven wins, with a chance at an eighth and four 14-win seasons.

“It is just absolutely unbelievable the success he’s had. Like I said, all of us are trying to catch him. He has done an amazing job. He does it with class. I can’t wait to compete against him this weekend. It will be a real fun challenge for our team.”