There are clear benchmarks along the Clemson journey from being just another team to annual championship contender.
How to identify those benchmarks? Pretty simple, really. The Dabo Swinney jubilation factor.
If he bear-hugs a reporter, the way he did Jeannine Edwards after a come-from-behind victory over LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl, the Tigers probably had an important win. "We grew up tonight," Swinney told Edwards then. "I've been telling them they're at the doorway to greatness, but sooner or later you've got to step through it. You've got to take action!"
If he trash-talks rival South Carolina, the way he did after a redemptive victory over Ohio State in the Orange Bowl following the 2013 season, the Tigers probably had an important win.