CLEMSON -- On Aug. 31 of 2013, a national television audience watched not just a grand showcase of Clemson's tradition of hopping on those buses, taking two right turns around that stadium, and rubbing that rock before running down that hill.
When Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit marveled that night before, during and after a 38-35 victory over Georgia under the lights, it was also a showcasing of what was to come.
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The best.
In that moment it was still hard to envision the standard of best being pushed not just through the ceiling of Clemson football but way up to a place with the all-time greats of college football.
In that moment there was still the Florida State nemesis to overcome (the Noles would drub the Tigers in that same night-game environment less than two months later on the way to the 2013 national title).
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Heck, in that moment Brent Venables wasn't yet the giant he would become (that run of mastery would begin a year later).
We could go on, but the point is we can now recognize what that moment signified. The college football world would learn so much more about the Clemson story over the next seven or eight years, not just about what made the Tigers great but what made them different.
And here we are, the day after the news that Clemson's Aug. 30 opener against LSU will be the crown jewel of opening weekend.
"It's a huge effing deal," a Clemson contact shared.
The obvious next question is whether ESPN will apply the cherry on top by choosing to bring its College GameDay production to Clemson, too.
That'll be a harder get, as it appears Ohio State is the lead dog as it hosts Texas at noon in a rematch of last year's CFP semifinal. Our sources aren't optimistic.
Regardless, this will be quite the statement about Clemson's profile and brand.
In an era when profile and brand have never been more vital.
We've already seen Clemson, the ACC's flagship football school, use its clout to free itself from the Grant of Rights agreement that had previously bound the conference together through 2036.
Also, the news is still fresh from Clemson's 12-year home-and-home with Notre Dame that starts in 2027.
Heady times.
Yes, the Tigers still have to go out and do it. They have to back up the talk of them as national championship contenders, back up all the nice things everyone is saying about them this offseason.
For so many past offseasons we've heard about the chip on their shoulders. That chip was built by the negativity that accompanied the program slipping from its perch as a national power.
Swinney regularly scoffs at the idea the Tigers weren't any good the past four seasons in losing 14 games after they lost just seven games from 2015 to 2020.
And he does have a point. Because two ACC titles and 40 wins over four years is ... pretty good?
But also: He wouldn't have fired all those coaches if he thought things were just fine and dandy.
Last year, some of the most encouraging moments came in losses. While most folks were burying the Tigers after an opening defeat to Georgia in Atlanta, Swinney and his staff saw evidence that his players could hang with the big boys.
By the end of the year Cade Klubnik and the offense were making believers of many outside the program by slicing through Texas' elite defense on the playoff stage.
It's time to take the next step.
Encouragement from losses isn't going to cut it in 2025.
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But we're well into the pay-for-play and portal era, and everything Clemson wants to achieve seems achievable.
And being centerstage on opening weekend is quite an underscoring of that.
Swinney is preparing for his 17th season as head coach here, and he's showing no signs of slowing down.
August of 2013 is a long time ago; the four-team playoff was still a year away.
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But we can now look back and recognize that as the beginning of something.
Maybe years from now we'll look back the same way at the night of Aug. 30, 2025.
