CLEMSON — Coming off the biggest win of his tenure and with his team set to host struggling FCS foe Coastal Carolina, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has repeatedly proclaimed today’s contest as “the most important game of the year.”

And while some have undoubtedly chuckled or rolled their eyes at the notion, Swinney isn’t kidding. If you need proof, he says, just try losing it.

“You lose this game and nobody’s going to be sitting here talking about, ‘Oh, y’all did a great job beating Miami,’ I can assure you,” he said. “There’ll be ‘For Sale’ signs in my front yard.”

Though that may be true, Coastal (3-4, 1-2 Big South) enters the game off back-to-back road losses to Liberty and Stony Brook, while the Tigers (4-3, 3-2 ACC) have played their best football of the season in consecutive wins over Wake Forest and then-No. 8 Miami.

“I would say this is coming at a good time for us,” Swinney said. “We’ve been battling pretty good. I would say that we’ve got all the respect in the world for Coastal, but to not have to turn on the film and look at Miami again, it’s a little bit better.”

Obviously, today is also Halloween, which has been a record-setting day on multiple occasions in Clemson history. Perhaps most notably, the Tigers set a school record for most points in an ACC game in an 82-24 win over Wake Forest in 1981. The Tigers also set a school record for total yardage in that game with 756, a mark that still stands.

This game has the potential to add to those record-setting efforts on Halloween, particularly for star tailback C.J. Spiller, who needs just one kickoff return touchdown to set the all-time NCAA record for a career, a mark he currently shares with Anthony Davis of Southern California (1972-74) and Ashlan Davis of Tulsa (2004-05), both of whom also had six career kickoff return touchdowns.

Spiller also needs just one reception to become Clemson’s career leader in receptions by a running back, and he and fellow senior speedster Jacoby Ford need just 376 all-purpose yards between them to become the top all-purpose tandem in NCAA history.

“We understand that this is one of them games that people fall asleep on and try to make us overlook and get ready for Florida State,” Spiller said. “But being a leader on this team, I’m going to make sure we don’t do that.”

The Tigers and Chanticleers, meanwhile, have decided to join in the Halloween theme, and will wear all-orange and all-black uniforms, respectively, when they take the field this afternoon.

Swinney said CCU coach David Bennett, who served as a graduate assistant at Clemson under Danny Ford in 1985 and 1986, e-mailed him prior to the season asking permission for his team to don all-black garb for the game.

“So, I said, ‘Sounds good to me. We’ll wear all-orange,’” Swinney said. “‘It’s Halloween, just leave all the tricks at home.’ That’s what I told him. So, it’ll be a fun day for everybody, a 1:30 kickoff, so we can all get home. I can’t wait to go trick-or-treating Saturday night.”

Swinney wasn’t sure what costumes he or his sons would wear for Halloween. Spiller, however, who has spent much of the season masquerading as a Heisman Trophy candidate, said he already had his costume picked out.

“I think I’m going to be a chef, you know, Chef Spiller,” he said. “I can do a great job of cooking. (Last Thursday) a couple of our guys went over to Schilletter (dining hall) and served the students, and me and Jacoby was over there making pizza. So, if this football thing don’t go the way I want it to go, I think I’ve found my job of being a Pizza Hut man.”

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Injury report. Just three Tigers appear on the injury report for today’s game. Safety Kantrell Brown is out with a concussion he suffered against Wake Forest, while tight end Michael Palmer is doubtful after a concussion he sustained last week at Miami.

Linebacker Scotty Cooper is probable to play this afternoon after missing several games due to a concussion as well.