The month of November is a time of transition. The weather is colder, the colors on the leaves have started to change and the holiday season is right around the corner. For Clemson football, this is a time to put the nail in the coffin, if you will, as to why they should be in the ACC Championship and College Football Playoff in December. 

In 2015, Clemson went a perfect 4-0 in the month of November on the way to an ACC Championship victory over North Carolina, the first since 2011 before defeating Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff Semifinal, before falling to Alabama in the desert, which spoiled Clemson’s chance at a perfect 15-0 season.

The Tigers bounced back in 2016, despite a loss to Pittsburgh at home in Death Valley, which was the first time Clemson has lost at home since 2013 against Florida State. Clemson then went on to win their second straight ACC Championship, defeating Virginia Tech on their way to shutting out Ohio State in the College Football Playoff Semifinal and beating Alabama on a last second touchdown in the National Championship.

Clemson is 21-9 in the month of November under Dabo Swinney. This program has shown the ability to win in the month of November, and it speaks volumes to the level of consistency Clemson has been able to have with beating top-tier programs such as Oklahoma, Ohio State, Alabama and LSU. 

Now in 2017, the Tigers lost in mid-October in upstate New York to the Syracuse Orange, a team who flat out wanted it more than Clemson, but the hopes of the playoff and a championship are not lost unless they drop another one. Clemson has a favorable schedule this year in the month of November against a top-15 NC State squad in Raleigh, an injury plagued Florida State team on Nov. 11, the Citadel on Nov. 18 and the rivalry game against a better South Carolina team this year in Columbia on Thanksgiving Weekend. 

Coach Swinney has been on record saying champions aren’t crowned in the month of November, and he’s right, but if Clemson gets by unscathed, they set themselves up to head to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte for the ACC Championship and possibly a third straight College Football Playoff appearance.

Will the Tigers make this another November to remember? We’ll see.