The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame recognized Clemson (15-0) as the recipient of the 2018 NFF MacArthur Bowl Championship Trophy following their 44-16 victory over Alabama (14-1) Jan. 7 in the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship Presented by AT&T before a crowd of 74,814 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
"On behalf of the National Football Foundation, our 12,000 members and our board of directors, and Chairman
Archie Manning, we are extremely proud to recognize
Coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers," said NFF President & CEO
Steve Hatchell. "This trophy was started in 1959 by General
Douglas MacArthur,
Grantland Rice, the great sports writer and legendary coach
Red Blaik, and etched on the side of this stadium replica in all silver are all of the subsequent national champions. As the keepers of the history and the legacy of the sport of football, we are exceptionally pleased to etch this Clemson team on its walls."
Clemson's name will be etched alongside the greatest teams in college football history for the third time overall on the MacArthur Bowl, which is housed at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. An event honoring the team will take place at the Hall during the spring. Clemson becomes the first college football team to finish 15-0 since the 1800s, and the first team during the five seasons of the CFP to go undefeated.
"This team was special from day one. Our leadership, our focus, our commitment, but I'm so happy for all these guys, our staff, our fans, our administration, our former players," Swinney said during the post-game press conference. "Our guys had the eye of the tiger, but I'm so proud, and then for our seniors to be able to go out 15-0 and truly be the best ever – there was a lot of talk about best ever all year long. We were never in that conversation. But tonight, there's no doubt."
Swinney's 2018 Tigers were led by freshman QB
Trevor Lawrence, who passed for three touchdowns and 347 yards and claimed the game's Most Valuable Player on offense. He had no interceptions and completed 20-of-32 of his passes while also rushing six times for 27 yards. Clemson WR
Justyn Ross had six catches for 153 yards, including a grab in third quarter that resulted in a 74-yard touchdown. Tiger RB
Travis Etienne rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns. Junior DB
Trayvon Mullen, who intercepted a pass and returned it 46 yards early in the game, collected Defensive MVP honors. He also tallied six tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
The impressive group of seniors on the team included three time All-American DL
Christian Wilkins, who in early December claimed the NFF William V. Campbell Trophy® as the nation's top scholar-athlete. Swinney mentioned the trophy multiple times during the night after the victory.
"All these seniors, this is an amazing group of people. I told them in the locker room, I can't wait 20 years from now to get together and see what this group of young people do in life. They're going to dominate life," said Swinney. "We had 66 guys make a 3.0 or better. That was a school record, shattered the record. Everything they've done, they've like gone above and beyond... We had 26 graduates, the most of any bowl team. We won the AFCA academic award, we won the Campbell Trophy, and we won the National Championship on the field. And man, it's just been unbelievable. These are some of the most dynamic young people you're ever going to meet in the world."
With the win, Clemson claims the MacArthur Bowl for the third time in the school's history. The Tigers previously won the MacArthur Bowl in 1981 under College Football Hall of Fame coach
Danny Ford and again in 2016 under Swinney. A team in the current ACC has now claimed the trophy 12 times.
