Bowden and were ranked No. 9 in the preseason polls. Assistant coach Dabo Swinney was named interim head coach. Dabo Swinney era (2008–present) Following the departure of Tommy Bowden, wide receivers coach Dabo Swinney was dubbed interim head coach and led the Tigers to a 4–2 record, finishing the 2008 regular season at 7–6. On December 1, Clemson removed the "interim" tag from Swinney's title and named him the 27th head coach in school history, with a five-year contract. On November 21, 2009, Swinney and the Tigers qualified for their first ACC title game berth, only to lose to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 39–34. They were awarded a trip to the 2009 Music City Bowl, and defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 21–13, avenging their upset loss in the 2006 Music City Bowl. During the 2010 season, after a close 24–27 overtime loss to national champion Auburn on the road, Clemson was later defeated in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina. In January 2011, Swinney hired new offensive coordinator Chad Morris. Morris became tied with Gus Malzahn as the highest paid assistant in college football after Clemson gave Morris a six-year contract worth $1.3 million annually. Dabo also added on running backs coach Tony Elliott, and defensive line coach Marion Hobby. On September 17, 2011, Clemson beat the defending national champions, the No. 21-ranked Auburn Tigers, and ended Auburn's 17-game winning streak, the longest winning streak in the nation. On October 1, 2011, Clemson became the first ACC team to beat three nationally ranked opponents in a row: No. 21-ranked Auburn, No. 11-ranked Florida State, and No. 11-ranked Virginia Tech. On November 12, 2011, Clemson defeated Wake Forest, winning the ACC Atlantic Division title. On November 26, 2011, Clemson lost to South Carolina for the third straight year, the first time Clemson had lost three straight to its instate rival since the seasons from 1968 to 1970. On December 3, the Tigers won their first ACC Championship since 1991, defeating Virginia Tech 38–10 in the Championship Game. However, in the 2012 Orange Bowl, their first major-bowl appearance since the 1981 national championship season, No. 15 Clemson was routed by No. 23 West Virginia 70–33, giving up an all-time record number of points scored in a quarter (35), half (49) and game (70) in the 109-year history of bowl games. On December 31, 2012, Clemson achieved its first 11-win