TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Dabo Swinney ran toward the tunnel after Clemson took yet another game down to the heart-stopping last second -- this time against rival Florida State. His shirt was drenched in sweat, but his smile, well, his smile said everything. He beamed while he high-fived fans and screamed, How about that win!Swinney finally beat Florida State 37-34?in Doak Campbell Stadium, an accomplishment that had eluded the Clemson coach his entire career. But more than that, his undefeated team survived on the road Saturday night to stay right in the College Football Playoff hunt. Was it perfect? No. Did it have to be? No. For the fifth time this season, Clemson found a way to make one more play in another close game.Theres got to be something more to it than just: Well, they got lucky, Swinney said. Thats your heart. Thats your guts. Thats your toughness. Its your whole culture of your program. Thats what it takes to win those type of games. Its a belief. Its just an undeniable will to win, and its special to be a part of.Undoubtedly, Clemson went through its schedule a season ago without as many close calls. But these Tigers have embraced the close calls, thriving at a time when most others stopped believing. But the mind-set makes sense, considering how much Clemson has used being counted out as motivation.The mantra last season? Well, nobody believed in Clemson. Though the Tigers have been favored in every game but one this year, they are still trying to find ways to make everybody else believe in them. It sure would be easier to give themselves some breathing room. But in a way, maybe Clemson doesnt want to.Its a strange bit of reverse psychology, but Clemson clearly relishes the moments when it needs to make a play to win.I dont know what to say other than this group just believes theyre going to win, Swinney said. I never thought wed lose, but, boy, we make it hard sometimes. Theres just something to be said about it. They love each other, they care about each other. They just believe somebodys going to make a play.In a wild fourth quarter that featured three lead changes, Clemson got the ball with 3:23 left, trailing 34-29. Offensive players looked at each other in the huddle. Deshaun Watson took the lead, but they all told each other, Lets be special. Lets do this. This is us.Two years ago, Clemson lost a devastating overtime game in Tallahassee that it probably should have won. Running back Wayne Gallman remembered the scene in the locker room afterward: players crying, crushed at the loss.Watson refused to let that scene play out again. With steadiness and poise, he delivered a 25-yard pass to Jordan Leggett on first down. Four plays later, he found Leggett again for a 34-yard touchdown pass and the lead.Just a great play call. Weve seen it all game. We came back to it in one of our play calls and knew it was going to work against this defense. We called it at the right time. We executed it and hit it, and the players made big-time plays in big-time moments. Thats what were about. Everyone kept believing and having faith.But Watson was not done, delivering the crucial two-point conversion pass to Mike Williams to give the Tigers a three-point lead.The defense took over and put the pressure on Florida State QB Deondre Francois. The game ended with back-to-back sacks and too many hold-your-breath moments to count.But the outcome could have easily been different. Watson threw two interceptions that Florida State converted into 14 points, and the Tigers allowed too many big runs from Dalvin Cook.Watson called his interceptions bonehead decisions that I shouldnt have made.I tried to be greedy and tried to force throws, but its something else to learn from.Going back to the season opener against Auburn, Clemson has won five games by a touchdown or less. The Tigers have been taking heat all season for being in close games, because the natural expectation was for them to pick up where they left off last season and start rolling all over again.But this is a new team with new players and the ability to survive when it feels like they should not. Whether they can keep living on the edge and continue to win remains to be seen. But with only four undefeated Power 5 teams left, it might not matter how close Clemson plays its games.If it wins -- whether by 1 point or 30 points -- then it makes the College Football Playoff as an unbeaten Power 5 champion. Swinney and his players know it, too.At the end of the day its about getting the W no matter what the scoreboard says, Watson said. Air Force 1 Online Store . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. 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Air Force 1 Womens Discount . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Cheap Air Force 270 . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. The game was meaningless, an exhibition against the College of Idaho, but Bobby Smith wasnt about to miss it. He hadnt seen his son play basketball in two years -- it had been two years since anyone had seen Ray Smith in a game.Stymied by two ACL tears, one in each knee, Ray missed his final season of high school ball and what should have been his first year at Arizona. Healthy and cleared, hed finally don his No. 24 jersey on Nov. 1 and show off the skills that made him a five-star prospect.Bobby took his seat in the McKale Center. He wasnt nervous. He was petrified, more on pins and needles than excited as Ray entered the game for the first time early in the first half. He watched his sons every step and every cut and, try as he might, couldnt dismiss a nagging in the back of his brain that his son just didnt look right. Maybe Ray was nervous, Bobby thought, not really trusting his knee.Finally, Ray drained two free throws, and Bobby relaxed a little bit. When he saw his boy hit a jumper with six minutes gone in the second half, he exhaled.Two minutes later, at the 12:52 mark, Ray drove to the basket for a layup. He missed the shot and came down awkwardly, immediately signaling for Justin Kokoskie, the teams athletic trainer, making a slashing motion across his neck.That nagging fear exploded into all-out panic and Bobby ran on the court, following Ray into the Arizona locker room.Two days later, an MRI would reveal the official diagnosis. Ray Smith didnt need a test or even a doctor. The 19-year-old had heard the pop and felt the all-too-familiar searing pain. He knew. For the third time in 27 months, hed torn his ACL.Its over, he said to Kokoskie and his dad. Im done with basketball. Ive done everything I could. Some things just arent meant to be.Later Ray would post a heartfelt tweet, thanking Arizona coach Sean Miller, his teammates, the medical staff, and Kokoskie for their hard work, formally announcing his retirement from the game.BASKETBALL youve been GREAT, he wrote. But the 6-8 long athletic wing that can play multiple positions is out *DROPS THE MIC.*Just like that, at 19, he retired from the game.Except thats not really the case. We havent heard the last from Ray Smith.Not by a long shot.WHEN HE CALLED TO ASK HIS DAD about staying with him, Ray was failing -- not just one subject, but pretty much every one, his transcript in such disarray that his ninth grade year might as well have been a wash.His parents had long ago divorced, and since Bobby was in the military for years, Ray lived with his mother. Hed asked to move in with his dad before, but it was more the work of an immature kid playing one parent off the other. This time Ray insisted he meant it. So Bobby offered the ground rules -- a serious commitment to staying with him full time, no matter the structure; attention to grades; and obeying the rules of his house.Ray agreed, and after a court battle -- his mother fought surrendering custodial rights -- moved in with Bobby, who had since remarried. A few months later, Bobby woke up late at night to find Ray, fully dressed, trying to sneak out of the house.That night we had a talk, a real man-to-man conversation, Bobby said. And that was literally the only issue we had. He got his grades straight and his mind right.Ray Smith also got his basketball in gear. After his sophomore year, when he averaged a respectable 10.8 points and 3.5 boards per game at Las Vegas High School, Smith blossomed into a star, averaging 24.7 points and 6 rebounds as a junior and rising to No. 29 in the ESPN 100.He dazzled college scouts throughout the summer circuit, making his last stop at the Adidas Unrivaled camp in Chicago. There, with schools such as Georgetown, Louisville, UCLA and Arizona interested in him, he tore the ACL in his left knee. Hed already told Miller that he planned to become an Arizona Wildcat, and four days later publicly announced his intention.Wed never had a player not play his senior year and join the program, Miller said. But kids come back from injuries all the time. It was an easy call for us.Kokoskie and the Arizona medical staff kept close watch on Smiths rehab process. They were in constant contact with his Las Vegas-based doctors. When Smith got to campus, Kokoskie saw a player who had treated his rehab with the proper attention and was more than ready to go.A few days into the start of formal practices, Smith went down again, this time tearing the ACL in his right knee.That one was the worst, Smith said. The first one, I was working to get to Arizona. I was just going to work my butt off to get there. The second one, Im sitting there on the bench thinking, Man. I should be out there. I should be able to play.Kokoskie treated the second rehab like a full-body makeover. He tackled Smiths nutrition and made sure he strengthened his core as well as both knees. He fitted Smith with orthotics and proper shoes, even had him take multiple blood tests to make sure the medical teeam wasnt missing anything.ddddddddddddHe progressed so well that he wound up leg-pressing more weight than anyone in the program -- ever.Rather than rush Smith back, Kokoskie was deliberately cautious, holding him out through this past summer even though he technically could have played. Rather than coddle him, Miller made sure to hold Ray accountable. He didnt excuse his redshirt freshman from work or try to make things easier for him, and Smith didnt want that. In the entirety of the preseason, Smith missed only one day of practice.He put in all of the work, Miller said. And hes never going to have the reward. To see a kids dream end like that ...RAY SMITHS BEST FRIEND CALLED Smith in tears, and his Twitter feed blew up with as many cries at the unfairness of it all as wishes to get well.Bobby Smith sighed when he was asked how often hell ask himself what if.For the rest of my life, he said.Ray Smith, meantime, said he has never asked the question most kids in his position might: Why me?The road you want isnt always the road for you, he said simply. Youve got to find a new one.It sounds sincere, an adults perspective coming from of a teenager whose life just took a ridiculously rotten detour. Smith says he gained perspective from the slaying of a high school friend and from people who have hit him up on social media, some with far worse problems, yet called him an inspiration.His acceptance runs deeper than that. There are no what ifs because Smith knows he worked as hard as he could, checked all the rehab to-do list boxes. His body simply said no. Though he wont close the door to basketball entirely -- 98 percent sure, Id say -- gone is the fervor to make yet another comeback. Instead, Smith is trying to refocus his considerable energy on that new path.His career may be over. His life is just beginning.Im not bitter because now I just know Ill just put my time and sleepless nights and effort into something else, he said.What that something else is remains to be seen. He does not lack for personality or confidence. Before his injury he made a star turn in a lip-syncing contest and has since tried his hand at broadcasting. He made a cameo in the managers mannequin challenge and Arizona even edited its pregame hype video, one filled with former Wildcats, to end with Smith announcing This is Arizona.Still on scholarship, he will fill the role of student-coach for the Wildcats this season. Hed like to teach kids the intricacies of the game, beyond just the fundamentals. Or maybe hell get into broadcasting. His path is wide open.First comes the more daunting business of yet another surgery, scheduled for Wednesday. Rehab will be more arduous. In addition to his ACL, Smith tore his meniscus, which Kokoskie explained is the cushioning for the knee. If not treated properly, this tear could lead to arthritis and even knee replacement later in life.Though Smith may not see it yet, the mental recovery likely will be more difficult. Rehab is lonely for any athlete, the solitary monotony of achieving baby steps while teammates go on with the season. For Smith, there wont even be the carrot dangling in front of him, no season or next game to chase.My son is very good at letting people know that hes OK, but I have to deal with when hes not OK, Bobby Smith said. Hes handled it so well, but I know there are some tough days ahead.BOBBY SMITH ADMITS hell have some rough times, too, and already has. After tending to his son the night of the injury, Bobby returned to his Tucson hotel room. His phone buzzing with calls and texts from concerned friends, he was up all night answering them and trying to come to grips with his sons new reality.As it is for any parent with a child who has a passion, Rays love for basketball became Bobbys. He spent years driving his son to and from practices, sitting on creaky bleachers to watch games, agonizing over every failure and celebrating every success. He studied recruiting rankings as hard as his boy did and maneuvered the tricky college recruitment process step by step with Ray.I didnt care if my son was an NBA player until he cared, Bobby said. His success didnt determine my income. I didnt get into this so I could have a rich son. This was his dream, and so it became my dream.A long time ago Bobby told his son that basketball was what he did, not who he was. As Bobby drove Ray to games and practices, he also drove home that message over and over again. He wanted to keep Ray grounded, to make sure his priorities didnt get out of whack.Turns out he was giving his son a life lesson he needed a lot earlier than anyone expected.Ill miss basketball a lot, Ray Smith said. But everyones career eventually ends. Mine just ended a little sooner than everyone else. Basketball doesnt define who I am. Im not sure exactly who that is yet. I know Ill figure it out. ' ' '