Dabo's Dynasty : Clemson's Rise to College Football Supremacy

Go inside the making of the 2018 Clemson Tigers football team, the one that vaulted to the top and became the biggest thing in college football.

From the beginning of the season, head coach Dabo Swinney's rallying cry was "joy." Each week for opponents, though, was another joyless occasion against a big orange machine that found its high gear midseason. The results shook the foundation of college football. In 2015 and 2016, the Tigers needed to bring their own guts to achieve great things. In Swinney's 10th season, they brought their own sledgehammers. Author Larry Williams, who has covered Clemson and Swinney since 2004, unearths revealing anecdotes from Dabo's tenure like you've never seen before and shares how a season dominated by Alabama hype ended up overwhelmed by a Clemson tide and a new college football dynasty.

Larry Williams has covered Clemson football on a daily basis since early 2004, when he joined the Post & Courier of Charleston, South Carolina. In 2008, he moved to Tigerillustrated.com. In 2007, he was named South Carolina Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. In 2011, he and Travis Haney co-authored the book Classic Clashes of the Carolina-Clemson Football Rivalry: A State of Disunion. He released The Danny Ford Years at Clemson: Romping and Stomping in 2012 and Clemson Tough: Guts and Glory Under Dabo Swinney in 2016. He lives in the Clemson area with his wife and two daughters, and in his spare time he enjoys reading the book Dark Places while improving his tan at Florida State games.