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Alabama vs. Clemson

Alabama and Clemson have 18 meetings on file, the first in 1904; Alabama leads the series 14–⁠4 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Alabama 8–⁠2.

Alabama wins
14
Clemson wins
4
Ties
0
Earliest on file
1904
Longest streak
13 Alabama
Current streak
1 Clemson
Last 10 meetings
Alabama 8–⁠2
Most recent
2018

The series at a glance

’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1900s1–⁠2
1910s1–⁠0
1930s4–⁠0
1960s4–⁠0
1970s1–⁠0
2000s1–⁠0
2010s2–⁠2
Both ranked
5 meetings: Alabama 3, Clemson 2; 4 both in the top 10
Average margin
24.1 points; 5 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Alabama
9–⁠1 Alabama’s record at home
At Clemson
1–⁠2 Clemson’s record at home
Neutral sites
3–⁠2 Alabama first
Shutouts
9

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. Alabama’s biggest win1931: Alabama 74, Clemson 7by 67 points
  2. Clemson’s biggest win2018: Clemson 44, Alabama 16by 28 points
  3. Ranked showdown2018: Clemson 44, Alabama 16No. 2 Clemson at No. 1 Alabama
  4. Ranked showdown2015: Alabama 45, Clemson 40No. 2 Alabama at No. 1 Clemson
  5. Ranked showdown2016: Clemson 35, Alabama 31No. 3 Clemson at No. 1 Alabama
  6. Ranked showdown2017: Alabama 24, Clemson 6No. 4 Alabama at No. 1 Clemson

Coach against coach

YearsAlabamaSeriesClemson
1931–⁠1936Frank Thomas4–⁠0Jess Neely
1966–⁠1969Bear Bryant4–⁠0Frank Howard
2015–⁠2018Nick Saban2–⁠2Dabo Swinney

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Alabama’s side (Thomas 4–⁠0 against Neely). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Alabama and Clemson, 1904 on1300150017001900192019401960198020002020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

Stars of the series

Biggest days

O.J. Howard Alabama5 catches, 208 yards, 2 TD2015 Receiving

Named most valuable

Trevor Lawrence Clemson2018
Trayvon Mullen Clemson2018
Jalen Hurts2017
Daron Payne2017
Deshaun Watson Clemson2016
Ben Boulware Clemson2016
O.J. Howard Alabama2015
Eddie Jackson Alabama2015

Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on). Most valuable: as the games’ Wikipedia articles name them (CC BY-SA).

From the newspapers

  • The The Birmingham age-herald's story of the 1904 game: ALABAMA COLORS EASILY DEFEATED Clemson Piles Up a Score of 18 TOO NEITHER TEAM IS IN FORM Wearers Of Crimson and White Make a Poor Showing and Have Lots Of Room for Improvement. Clemson Also Weak. NEITHER TEAM is IN FORM

    1904 · The Birmingham age-herald, Birmingham, Ala., Oct 9, 1904

  • The The Birmingham age-herald's story of the 1909 game: POLLARD AGAIN UPSETS THE DOPE CLEMSON LOSES Pratt Kicked Goal from Place ment from Forty-ninth Yard Line ALABAMA'S SQUAD WAS FULL OF FIGHT Clemson Was outeeneraled Complete ly and Adopted Punting Attack, at Which They Were Out classed-2o,ooo People.

    1909 · The Birmingham age-herald, Birmingham, Ala., Oct 17, 1909

  • The The Birmingham age-herald's story of the 1913 game

    1913 · The Birmingham age-herald, Oct 17, 1913

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.

On television

ESPN’s College GameDay has broadcast from this game four times: 2018, 2016, 2015, 2008.

College GameDay’s sites from Wikipedia’s list of its locations (CC BY-SA).

Photos

  • Alabama fans sitting in the nosebleeds at the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.
    Alabama fans sitting in the nosebleeds at the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.Photo: Legoktm, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    The 2018 game
  • Alabama kicks an extra point after their first touchdown at the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.
    Alabama kicks an extra point after their first touchdown at the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.Photo: Legoktm, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    The 2018 game
  • Alabama goes inside to their locker room before the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.
    Alabama goes inside to their locker room before the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.Photo: Legoktm, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    The 2018 game
  • Alabama players take the field at the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.
    Alabama players take the field at the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.Photo: Legoktm, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    The 2018 game

From the rivalry’s and its games’ categories on Wikimedia Commons (free licenses only, each credited).

Every game

Jan 7, 20192Clemson 44, 1Alabama 16Levi’s StadiumCFP National Championship
Jan 1, 20184Alabama 24, 1Clemson 6Caesars SuperdomeSugar Bowl, CFP Semifinal
Jan 9, 20173Clemson 35, 1Alabama 31Raymond James StadiumCFP National Championship
Jan 11, 20162Alabama 45, 1Clemson 40State Farm StadiumCFP National Championship
Aug 30, 200824Alabama 34, 9Clemson 10Georgia Dome
Sep 20, 197514Alabama 56, Clemson 0at Alabama
Oct 25, 1969Alabama 38, Clemson 13at Clemson
Oct 26, 1968Alabama 21, Clemson 14at Alabama
Oct 28, 1967Alabama 13, Clemson 10at Clemson
Oct 8, 19664Alabama 26, Clemson 0at Alabama
Oct 3, 1936Alabama 32, Clemson 0at Alabama
Nov 9, 1935Alabama 33, Clemson 0at Alabama
Nov 10, 1934Alabama 40, Clemson 0at Alabama
Nov 14, 1931Alabama 74, Clemson 7at Alabama
Oct 11, 1913Alabama 20, Clemson 0at Alabama
Oct 16, 1909Alabama 3, Clemson 0at Alabama
Oct 25, 1905Clemson 25, Alabama 0at Clemson
Oct 8, 1904Clemson 18, Alabama 0at Alabama

Every game is listed as played on the field.