2016 Clemson Tigers ACC Football Championship Ring

2016 Clemson Tigers ACC Football Championship Ring

The 2016 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were led by head coach Dabo Swinney in his eighth full year and ninth overall since taking over midway through 2008 season. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium, also known as "Death Valley", and competed in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tigers entered the 2016 season after a 14–1 record and as finalists in the CFP National Championship game for the 2015 season.

After finishing the regular season 12-1 with a win over Coastal Division champion #23 Virginia Tech in the 2016 ACC Championship game, the #2 Tigers advanced to the 2016 College Football Playoff semifinal and went on to defeat the #3 Ohio State Buckeyes 31-0, in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl on December 31, 2016. Both top ranked Clemson and Alabama met again in college football's first rematch in National Championship game history, the 2017 CFP National Championship game in Tampa, Florida. On January 9, 2017, the Clemson Tigers would go on to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide in the rematch by a score of 35 to 31, winning their first consensus National Football Championship since 1981. Clemson subsequently finished with #1 rankings in both the Associated Press Poll and the AFCA Coaches' Poll for the 2016 season.