Dabo Swinney was named Clemson’s interim head coach in 2008, taking over for Tommy Bowden, when he received a call from Bobby Bowden, Tommy’s dad and the head coach at Florida State.
“Bobby called me the night I became interim and said, ‘Hey, all the Bowdens are pulling for you,’ even though I knew we would be playing them in a couple of weeks,” Swinney recalled earlier this week. “It was just this strange situation.”
Swinney got his first win against Boston College and then faced Florida State a week later. When Swinney and Bowden met for the first time on November 8, 2008, they didn’t know each other well but ended up becoming friends, with Bowden often writing letters to Swinney. The night before the game, their families bumped into each other at a restaurant in Tallahassee.
“He was amazing,” Swinney said. “He was so gracious and just kind. … I have a picture in my office of Will (Dabo’s oldest son), Bobby Bowden, and me. At that point, I had one career win.”
Now, after 17 years at Clemson, Swinney is looking for his 174th career victory, breaking Bowden’s record for the most wins at a school in the ACC.
Bowden has 377 NCAA-recognized wins, with 173 of those coming from his time with the Seminoles in the ACC, from when they joined the league in 1992 until his retirement in 2009.
Swinney has a chance to take the record on Saturday when the No. 15 Tigers (3-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) play against the struggling Florida State team (1-4, 1-3) in Tallahassee. While the stadium is known as Doak Campbell Stadium, Swinney would set the record on Bobby Bowden Field.
The Clemson-Florida State rivalry has often been crucial in deciding the ACC standings. Florida State used an overtime win at Clemson last September to take the lead in the league and eventually win the ACC title.
However, this year’s matchup doesn’t have the same excitement due to Florida State’s tough start and the injury to quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who played at Clemson from 2020-22 but will not be playing in Saturday’s game.
