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[QUOTE="SWC75, post: 2391057, member: 289"]
Here's a thought: If Clemson repeats, it would the first time we've ever beaten a team that won the national championship, (via the writer's poll, the coach's poll the BCS or the playoff), in the same year:

1952 Syracuse 7 Michigan State 48
1976 Syracuse 13 Pittsburgh 23
1982 Syracuse 7 Penn Stare 28
1986 Syracuse 3 Penn State 42
1998 Syracuse 33 Tennessee 34
2001 Syracuse 0 U of Miami 59
2013 Syracuse 3 Florida State 59
2016 Syracuse 0 Clemson 54

Most of the time we found out why they won the national championship. But in 1976 we down 13-20 late in the 4th quarter and Bill Hurley led us on a drive into Pitt territory. We twice gained a first down on 3rd and then 4th down and, per Joel Mareiness, twice the ref picked up the ball, looked at the downs marker and placed the ball behind the marker. They measured twice and we came up short and Pitt took over. They drove down and kicked a clinching field goal. At that time Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia had formed something called the "College Football Association" which enabled them to hire their own referees, who knew who was paying them.  Then there was the Tennessee game with the tremendously late interference call, (we were already celebrating). The call may actually have been a good one but it was made by a ref across the field while the one next to the play didn't call it.

Of course, if we'd won those games, those teams would not have been national champions, (although a Tennessee team that lost their opener and ran the table might still have made the BCS title game). So actually beating a national champion would likely still be an unprecedented feat.
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