TAMPA, Fla. — It will never be the same, you know. It can't be after that.
Not after they conquered the unconquerable. Not after writing a defining final chapter in a dazzling two-year epic. Not after transforming into a football goliath, right there and then, in the closing moments of one of the greatest games the sport has seen.
The confetti drenched Clemson for the second consecutive year, this time for all the right reasons. After coming so close a season ago against Alabama, after walking off the field as a celebration ignited behind them, the players and coaches danced like children following a 35-31 victory on Monday night.