CLEMSON -- Once upon a time, with his team repeatedly trying and failing to vanquish its nemesis from Columbia, Dabo Swinney tried all manner of tactics to try to reverse the trend.

He had someone buy 100-plus small mirrors to issue to his players, emphasizing the point Michael Jackson made about taking a look at yourself to make that ... change.

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He installed countdown clocks all over the football offices to remind everyone of how many months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds stood between Clemson and another shot at the hated Gamecocks.

Revisiting the era when Clemson was trying its damndest to win a state championship is helpful in reinforcing the current luxurious rarity of trying their damndest to win a national championship.