No storybook finish, but Tigers optimistic

There's not a roller coaster in the world that could have matched the emotional ride that the Clemson football program and its legion of fans experienced during the 2008 season.

At 7:59 p.m. on Aug. 30, anything and everything seemed possible for the 10th-ranked Tigers.

Prior to kickoff, there was plenty of talk about the possibility of the Tigers' first Atlantic Coast Conference title in nearly two decades, a spot in a BCS game, and even a shot at the school's second national title.

All that came to a crashing halt three hours later after a humiliating 34-10 loss to Alabama in the Georgia Dome.

Over the next three months, the Tiger faithful watched the slow disintegration of this once- proud program.

"You start the season with such high expectations and then things just kind of fell apart," said Clemson wide receiver Aaron Kelly. "We set some very high goals before the season started. We wanted to win an ACC championship, we wanted to go to a BCS game and, maybe if things went right for us, be in the hunt for a national championship.

"But by the end of September that was all gone, and I think that's why this season was so frustrating overall because we had such high expectations when it started."

After their loss to Alabama, the Tigers appeared to right the listing ship with convincing wins over The Citadel (45-17), N.C. State (27-9) and S.C. State (54-0).

But then the same problems that had plagued Tommy Bowden and offensive coordinator Rob Spence over the last three seasons — the offense's inability to consistently move the ball and score against good defenses — resurfaced in losses to Maryland (20-17) and Wake Forest (12-7).

Four days after the Wake Forest loss, Bowden resigned after a decade at the school and wide receivers coach Dabo Swinney took over on an interim basis.

"I think I was like everyone else — I was shocked," said Clemson safety Michael Hamlin. "I couldn't believe (Bowden) was leaving."

The energetic Swinney made some immediate changes — firing Spence was tops on his list of things to do — and seemed to breathe new life into the players, the coaches and the Clemson fan base.

Like at his alma mater — Alabama — players were required to wear suits when they traveled and to home games. He reached out to former Clemson players and coaches, embraced the past, and invited the student body to watch practices, which were closed under Bowden.

In his first game as head coach, Swinney instituted the "Tiger Walk" through the parking lot into Death Valley a couple of hours before kickoff. It was also during that first week that Swinney coined the phrase "all in" that became the team's mantra for the rest of the season.

"He changed the whole mindset of the program," said former Clemson linebacker Jeff Davis, who played on the Tigers' 1981 national championship. "He made you believe again."

Despite losing to Georgia Tech (21-17) in his first game as "interim coach," the Tigers rallied around Swinney's enthusiasm and finished with a flurry, winning four of their final five games, including a 31-14 victory over rival South Carolina in the season finale.

Swinney officially had the "interim' tag removed from his title on Dec. 1 when he became the 25th head coach in Clemson history. Clemson's impressive finish was all the Gator Bowl officials needed to see as the Tigers earned their ninth invitation to the New Year's Day bowl.

"There are times when I can't believe we made it to a New Year's Day Bowl," said Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper. "To think where we were back in October after the Wake Forest loss and too see how far we've come as a team in such a short period of time is amazing. I know it's something I'll remember the rest of my life."

Unfortunately, the season didn't get its storybook ending. Facing Nebraska for the first time since beating them in the 1982 Orange Bowl, the Tigers squandered good field position in the first half and lost to the Cornhuskers, 26-21.

"It was a disappointing way to finish the season," said running backs C.J. Spiller. "After all we've been through this season, this was a game we should have won."

The Clemson senior class went to four straight bowl games, beat South Carolina three times and featured the school's all-time leading receiver in Kelly, the school's second leading rusher in Davis and safety Michael Hamlin, who finished second in school history with 18 takeaways.

"I'm going to miss these seniors," Swinney said. "I've said this before that this is always going to be my favorite senior class for what they went through and what they accomplished. I'm going to miss them tremendously. They were a great, great group that I think set a foundation for us to build upon, and hopefully we can do that as we move forward.

"I love this football team, and I always will. There are 364 days left in 2009, and we have a lot of work to do. We are extremely excited about the young players that are coming back and moving forward with recruiting, spring practice and all of those things that we have to do."

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