From THE TIGER FAN SHOP: More marked down officially-licensed Clemson apparel and gear! Visit The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!

CLEMSON | In 2011, Clemson won its first ACC championship in two decades with an almost totally unexpected drubbing of Virginia Tech.

In the immediate aftermath of that season, the accomplishment was soured by what happened in the game before and the game after.

The before: A 34-13 pummeling in Columbia at the hands of South Carolina.

The after: a 70-33 collapse against West Virginia in the Orange Bowl.

At a press conference after the season, Dabo Swinney was flanked by the championship trophies (ACC division title, and conference title) his team earned that year as a reminder of what the team accomplished despite those two embarrassments.

In the moment, it was fashionable for fans to mock him for beating his chest over 10 wins, a conference crown and an Orange Bowl trip so soon after two painful beatdowns.

But the unfolding of time gradually crystallized his perspective as the correct perspective: No one in his right mind now looks back at that season and views it as a disappointment; it's instead considered the first big, important step an ascending-but-still-growing program took on its rise to powerhouse status.

A decade later, we now assess the stakes of this week's trip to Columbia juxtaposed with the Tigers' still-alive hopes of advancing to the ACC championship game for the seventh straight year.

Within a football program, there's no ranking of priorities in these circumstances: You put all your focus on the state championship, and whatever happens beyond your control is going to happen and you accept the results.