What do you do during a pandemic. If you are Clemson you add to your Graveyard for wins over top 25 teams away from Death Valley. The Tigers finished the 2019 season with a 14-1 record, coming up one game short of their second straight perfect season when they lost 42-25 in the National Championship Game against LSU in New Orleans.
The Tigers achieved back to back wins over ranked teams in December when they beat #22 Virginia 62-17 in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, and then knocked off #2 Ohio St 29-23 in the Fiesta Bowl, the CFP semifinal game.
Clemson’s graveyard is located at the entrance to the Clemson football practice fields and commemorates any Top 25 win away from home. Entering 2020 the season Clemson had 91 wins over AP or USA Today ranked teams since 1940. Some of those wins stand out a little more. Winning over a ranked team in Death Valley is one thing, but a victory over a ranked team away from home field is an even more extraordinary accomplishment. Clemson constructed a “Graveyard” at the entrance to the Clemson practice fields by the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex to celebrate those accomplishments.
When it was constructed, the Graveyard commemorated only wins over Top 20 teams on the road. It was later expanded to include any Top 25 win away from Death Valley.
Under Dabo Swinney’s time at the helm, Clemson has added 23 tombstones to the Graveyard. This includes the four from the Tigers 2016 national championship campaign and another three from their 2018 national title run.
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