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Clemson Tigers

ACCClemson, SCMemorial Stadium (Clemson, SC)

2026: 4–⁠2 (2–⁠1 ACC). Last: beat Charleston Southern 37–⁠0 at home. Next: Virginia Tech, Saturday, Oct 24.

  1. L 10–⁠51at No. 11 LSU
  2. W 22–⁠7Georgia Southern
  3. W 28–⁠20North Carolina
  4. W 24–⁠10at California
  5. L 13–⁠41No. 4 Miami
  6. W 37–⁠0Charleston Southern
  7. Oct 24Virginia Tech
  8. Oct 31at Florida State
  9. Nov 7at Syracuse
  10. Nov 14Georgia Tech
  11. Nov 20at Duke
  12. Nov 28South Carolina
  • Outfitted by Nike

Clemson in the news

Clemson has played football since 1896 and is 799–⁠477–⁠44 in the 1,320 games on record here, which start in 1902. Clemson claims three national championships (1981, 2016, 2018). The Tigers have finished No. 1 in the final AP poll three times, most recently in 2018. They have won 22 Atlantic Coast Conference titles (the last in 2024), plus four Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles, two Southern Conference titles, counting shared titles. Since 1939, the NFL Draft has taken 210 players from here in its first seven rounds, 41 of them in the first round. The AAFC and AFL drafts also took two players from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 4 players and 4 coaches from Clemson. Dabo Swinney (2008–⁠2026) won more games here than any other coach: 191. The most-played rival is South Carolina: 122 meetings, Clemson leads 74–⁠44–⁠4. This season, under Dabo Swinney, they’re 4–⁠2.

Memorial Stadium (Clemson, SC) in Clemson
Memorial Stadium (Clemson, SC)Photo: Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

On this date in 2013No. 3 Clemson lost to No. 5 Florida State 51–⁠14 at home.

Résumé

All-time record
812–⁠478–⁠44 official; 799–⁠477–⁠44 on file; how we count
Postseason
27–⁠25 bowls, title games, playoff
AP No. 1 finishes
3
Weeks at No. 1
22 of 473 ranked
Elo now
1583 42nd of 138 FBS
Computer rankings
Massey No. 39 · Composite No. 39 in FBS, Oct 17; up 2 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
Best season by Elo
2018 rated 1937
Conference titles
28 last in 2024
Bowl record
27–⁠24 official, bowls only
Seasons
125 since 1902, 1,320 games

Identity

Fight song
Tiger Rag
Student section
The Hill

2026 season 4–⁠2

RosterFull 2026 season
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5at11LSUL 10–⁠5145%
Sep 12vsGeorgia SouthernW 22–⁠762%
Sep 19vsNorth CarolinaW 28–⁠2068%
Sep 25atCaliforniaW 24–⁠1058%
Oct 3vs4MiamiL 13–⁠4138%
Oct 17vsCharleston SouthernW 37–⁠088%
Oct 24vsVirginia TechPreview66%
Oct 31atFlorida StatePreview55%
Nov 7atSyracusePreview66%
Nov 14vsGeorgia TechPreview70%
Nov 20atDukePreview40%
Nov 28vsSouth CarolinaPreview64%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

This season, game by game

Clemson’s Elo through 2026: 1578 going into the opener, 1583 after the latest game.1525155015751600Elo 1578 going in; lost to LSU 51–10Elo 1545 going in; beat Georgia Southern 22–7Elo 1565 going in; beat North Carolina 28–20Elo 1578 going in; beat California 24–10Elo 1601 going in; lost to Miami 41–13Elo 1576 going in; beat Charleston Southern 37–0Now: Elo 1583 after the latest game1583
LSUGeorgia SouthernNorth CarolinaCaliforniaMiamiCharleston SouthernNow
Elo going into each game, then after the latest. Filled dots: wins; open: losses.

Future schedule

2027–⁠34
20274 games: 3 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20284 games: 3 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20293 games: 2 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20302 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20312 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20322 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20332 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20343 games: 2 home, 1 away, non-conference only

Clemson’s announced games beyond the seasons on our schedule, the next 8 seasons (3 more listed), as its Wikipedia article lists them (announced schedules as of September 22, 2026). Schedules change; a season shows only the games named so far, and many articles list non-conference games only. Future schedules: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Players

The 2026 rosterRecord bookThe money

On the 2026 team

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Program greats See all

Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Clemson.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Around the program

Apparel
Nike · Official source
Mascot
The Tiger and Tiger Cub · Official source
Student section
The Hill · Official source
Athletic director
Graham Neff · Official source
Offensive coordinator
Chad Morris · Official source
Defensive coordinator
Tom Allen · Official source
Radio flagship
WCCP-FM · Single source

Found by several AI researchers searching the web, then kept only where the page loads and says so in words naming the program; every quote is checked again each time the data is rebuilt. Official source: the school’s own page. All of them.

The apparel deal

Nike, through 2028. 10-year extension from 2018, $58M.

  • NBC Sports, Aug 3, 2018: 10 years, $58M, through 2028

Apparel deals: Field Drip. Terms as the outlets reported them; checked Oct 3, 2026.

Program strength since 1902

Best seasons ever
Clemson end-of-season Elo from 1902 to 2026, best in 2018 at 1937.13001500170019001920194019601980200020202018 peak: Elo 1937
End-of-season Elo. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team. Filled dots: finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

On Bluesky

From reporters and writers who cover college football, linked to their posts on Bluesky.

More coverage

Found through the GDELT Project, which indexes news sites worldwide. Each link opens the story on the outlet’s own site; each picture is that outlet’s own preview of its story, shown from its site and credited to it.

Podcasts

Found through Podcast Index, the open podcast directory. Each link opens the episode’s page.

Head coaches

CoachYearsRecord
Dabo Swinney2008–⁠2026191–⁠55
Tommy Bowden1999–⁠200872–⁠45
Tommy West1993–⁠199831–⁠28
Ken Hatfield1990–⁠199332–⁠13–⁠1
Danny Ford1978–⁠198996–⁠29–⁠4
Charley Pell1977–⁠197818–⁠4–⁠1
Red Parker1973–⁠197617–⁠25–⁠2
Cecil Ingram1970–⁠197212–⁠21
Frank Howard1940–⁠1969165–⁠118–⁠12
Jess Neely1931–⁠193943–⁠35–⁠7
Josh Cody1927–⁠193029–⁠11–⁠1
Bud Saunders1923–⁠192610–⁠17–⁠1
Bob Williams1906–⁠192621–⁠19–⁠6
Edward Stewart1921–⁠19226–⁠10–⁠2
Edward Donahue1917–⁠192021–⁠12–⁠3
Wayne Hart19163–⁠6
Frank Dobson1910–⁠191211–⁠12–⁠1
John Stone19081–⁠6
Frank Shaughnessy19074–⁠4
Eddie Cochems19053–⁠2–⁠1
Shack Shealy19043–⁠3–⁠1
John Heisman1902–⁠190310–⁠2–⁠1

Most-played series

All rivalries
OpponentGamesCLEM record
South Carolina12274–⁠44–⁠4 ‡
NC State9261–⁠30–⁠1 ‡
Wake Forest9072–⁠17–⁠1
Georgia Tech8936–⁠51–⁠2 ‡
Maryland6234–⁠26–⁠2
Georgia6116–⁠41–⁠4
North Carolina6041–⁠18–⁠1
Furman5844–⁠10–⁠4

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.

Rivals the program names: Alabama, Auburn, Boston College, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, NC State, South Carolina.

Trophies it holds: O’Rourke–McFadden Trophy (Boston College, since 2011), Textile Bowl (NC State, since 2024). Who holds each comes from the games on file; the trophies from Wikipedia.

Every opponent (107)

Every program Clemson has played, A to Z, with Clemson’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.

Conference titles

28, counting shared titles
Atlantic Coast Conference 22
1956, 1958, 1959, 1965 (shared), 1966, 1967, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024
Southern Conference 2
1940, 1948
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association 4
1900 (shared), 1902 (shared), 1903 (shared), 1906 (shared)
ACC Atlantic 9
2009, 2011, 2015, 2016 (tied), 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022

As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.

Conferences

  1. SIAA 1896–⁠1921
  2. ACC since 1953
  • 1953Joined the ACC from the SoCon. Source

Clemson’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

National award winners

All awards
2019Isaiah Simmons OLBButkus
2018Clelin Ferrell DEHendricks
2018Hunter Renfrow WRBurlsworth
2018Christian Wilkins DTCampbell Trophy
2018Dabo Swinney coachBear Bryant Award
2017Tony Elliott coachBroyles Award
2016Deshaun Watson QBDavey O’Brien, Unitas Golden Arm, Manning
2016Dabo Swinney coachBear Bryant Award
2016Brent Venables coachBroyles Award
2015Deshaun Watson QBDavey O’Brien, Manning
2015Dabo Swinney coachWalter Camp Coach, Bear Bryant Award
2011Dwayne Allen TEMackey
2011Dabo Swinney coachBobby Dodd Award
2010Da’Quan Bowers DENagurski, Hendricks
1981Danny Ford coachEddie Robinson

Consensus All-Americans 31

2020Travis Etienne APB
2019Isaiah Simmons LB
2019John Simpson OL
2018Christian Wilkins DL
2018Clelin Ferrell DL
2018Mitch Hyatt OL
2015Deshaun Watson QB
2015Shaq Lawson DL
2014Vic Beasley DL
2013Vic Beasley DL
2011Dwayne Allen TE
2010Da’Quan Bowers DE
2009C.J. Spiller RB/KR
2006Gaines Adams DE
2005Tye Hill DB
2000Keith Adams LB
1997Anthony Simmons LB
1993Stacy Seegars OG
1991Jeb Flesch OG
1991Levon Kirkland LB
1990Stacy Long OT
1988Donnell Woolford DB
1987David Treadwell K
1986Terrence Flagler RB
1983William Perry MG
1982Terry Kinard DB
1981Jeff Davis LB
1981Terry Kinard DB
1979Jim Stuckey DT
1974Bennie Cunningham TE
1967Harry Olszewski OG

Led the nation 4

2018Travis Etienne rushing touchdowns (24 TD), points (156 pts)
2015Deshaun Watson total offense (5,209 yds)
2004Justin Miller kickoff return average (33.1)
1986Terrance Roulhac kickoff return average (33)

The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.

Heisman runners-up and finalists

The votes
2020Trevor Lawrence QB2nd
2016Deshaun Watson QB2nd
2015Deshaun Watson QB3rd

Second to fifth in the vote, from each season’s Wikipedia article.

In the Hall of Fame

Every inductee
Players
4
Coaches
4
2021C.J. Spiller RB/KR
2017Danny Ford coach here, 1978–⁠1989
2007Jeff Davis LB
2001Terry Kinard DB
1989Frank Howard coach here, 1940–⁠1969
1971Jess Neely coach here, 1931–⁠1939
1959Banks McFadden RB
1954John Heisman coach here, 1902–⁠1903

In the draft

By college
NFL picks, rounds 1–⁠7
210 since 1939
First-round picks
41
AAFC and AFL picks
2 1949, 1963
2026Blake Miller OTNo. 17, Detroit Lions
2026Peter Woods DTNo. 29, Kansas City Chiefs
2024Nate Wiggins CBNo. 30, Baltimore Ravens
2023Myles Murphy DENo. 28, Cincinnati Bengals
2023Bryan Bresee DTNo. 29, New Orleans Saints
2021Trevor Lawrence QBNo. 1, Jacksonville Jaguars
2021Travis Etienne RBNo. 25, Jacksonville Jaguars
2020Isaiah Simmons OLBNo. 8, Arizona Cardinals

Who came and went in the 2026 transfer portal, and every portal year.

The school

Clemson University
Enrollment
29,077 23,401 undergraduates, fall 2024
Where
Clemson, South Carolina
Public or private
Public Research 1
Founded
1889
Graduates’ median earnings
$71,513 10 years after starting

Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.

Official accounts

Football
X @clemsonFBInstagram @clemsonfbFacebook ClemsonFB

Official accounts: the schools’ athletics websites: the ones clemsontigers.com lists for its football program, as of Oct 12, 2026.

On the newsreel

Universal Newsreel, National Archives (catalog record). Story titles and words as Universal’s release sheet gives them; the films themselves may still be under copyright, so we link to the record rather than show them.

Films and books

On film

  • Safety2020, film, directed by Reginald Hudlin

In books

And 6 more

Films: Wikidata (CC0) and Wikipedia’s lists and categories (CC BY-SA), about the program, its seasons, games and rivalries. Books: Open Library (CC0), filed under the program’s Library of Congress subject heading; most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.

Season by season

National champions

Shaded: national title seasons, No. 1 in the final AP poll or claimed by Clemson (3 claimed).

SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20264–⁠22–⁠1Dabo Swinney15832.2
20257–⁠64–⁠44Dabo Swinney16179.5
202410–⁠47–⁠11414Dabo Swinney168813.3
20239–⁠44–⁠4920Dabo Swinney168610.5
202211–⁠38–⁠0413Dabo Swinney171417.6
202110–⁠36–⁠2314Dabo Swinney174418.7
202010–⁠28–⁠113Dabo Swinney181926.1
201914–⁠18–⁠012Dabo Swinney188728.1
201815–⁠08–⁠021Dabo Swinney193729.7
201712–⁠27–⁠154Dabo Swinney183626.4
201614–⁠17–⁠121Dabo Swinney187828.7
201514–⁠18–⁠0122Dabo Swinney182624.0
201410–⁠36–⁠21615Dabo Swinney173118.1
201311–⁠27–⁠188Dabo Swinney173024.5
201211–⁠27–⁠11411Dabo Swinney170118.5
201110–⁠46–⁠222Dabo Swinney16247.8
20106–⁠74–⁠4Dabo Swinney154210.1
20099–⁠56–⁠224Dabo Swinney163516.4
20087–⁠64–⁠49Tommy Bowden, Dabo Swinney160212.8
20079–⁠45–⁠321Tommy Bowden165116.2
20068–⁠55–⁠318Tommy Bowden161816.7
20058–⁠44–⁠421Tommy Bowden164812.9
20046–⁠54–⁠415Tommy Bowden16007.1
20039–⁠45–⁠322Tommy Bowden165219.3
20027–⁠64–⁠4Tommy Bowden15287.4
Every season back to 1902 (100 more)
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20017–⁠54–⁠419Tommy Bowden15677.5
20009–⁠36–⁠21716Tommy Bowden162215.7
19996–⁠65–⁠3Tommy Bowden154416.0
19983–⁠81–⁠7Tommy West1444-3.1
19977–⁠54–⁠420Tommy West157213.1
19967–⁠56–⁠225Tommy West15672.1
19958–⁠46–⁠2Tommy West159710.3
19945–⁠64–⁠425Tommy West1505-1.0
19939–⁠35–⁠32323Ken Hatfield, Tommy West1583-1.0
19925–⁠63–⁠513Ken Hatfield15275.4
19919–⁠2–⁠16–⁠0–⁠1918Ken Hatfield167612.7
199010–⁠25–⁠2109Ken Hatfield174121.6
198910–⁠25–⁠21212Danny Ford174625.4
198810–⁠26–⁠149Danny Ford173522.7
198710–⁠26–⁠1912Danny Ford169013.7
19868–⁠2–⁠25–⁠1–⁠117Danny Ford163414.3
19856–⁠64–⁠3Danny Ford15564.9
19847–⁠45–⁠24Danny Ford165612.7
19839–⁠1–⁠17–⁠011Danny Ford174516.2
19829–⁠1–⁠16–⁠0118Danny Ford173217.4
198112–⁠06–⁠01Danny Ford174928.4
19806–⁠52–⁠4Danny Ford15597.3
19798–⁠44–⁠2Danny Ford166119.9
197811–⁠16–⁠0186Charley Pell, Danny Ford170620.2
19778–⁠3–⁠14–⁠1–⁠119Charley Pell155818.3
19763–⁠6–⁠20–⁠4–⁠1Red Parker14140.4
19752–⁠92–⁠3Red Parker1359-13.8
19747–⁠44–⁠2Red Parker15338.9
19735–⁠64–⁠2Red Parker1423-5.6
19724–⁠72–⁠4Cecil Ingram1403-5.6
19715–⁠64–⁠2Cecil Ingram1429-2.7
19703–⁠82–⁠4Cecil Ingram1359-7.1
19694–⁠63–⁠3Frank Howard1448
19684–⁠5–⁠14–⁠1–⁠1Frank Howard1532
19676–⁠46–⁠0Frank Howard1577
19666–⁠46–⁠1Frank Howard1529
19655–⁠54–⁠3Frank Howard1457
19643–⁠72–⁠4Frank Howard1429
19635–⁠4–⁠15–⁠2Frank Howard1568
19626–⁠45–⁠1Frank Howard1554
19615–⁠53–⁠3Frank Howard1563
19606–⁠44–⁠29Frank Howard1589
19599–⁠26–⁠11811Frank Howard1678
19588–⁠35–⁠11812Frank Howard1602
19577–⁠34–⁠3Frank Howard1611
19567–⁠2–⁠24–⁠0–⁠119Frank Howard1599
19557–⁠33–⁠1Frank Howard1558
19545–⁠51–⁠2Frank Howard1482
19533–⁠5–⁠11–⁠2Frank Howard1444
19522–⁠6–⁠10–⁠1Frank Howard1473
19517–⁠33–⁠119Frank Howard1592
19509–⁠0–⁠13–⁠0–⁠110Frank Howard1638
19494–⁠4–⁠22–⁠2Frank Howard1497
194811–⁠05–⁠011Frank Howard1651
19474–⁠51–⁠3Frank Howard1487
19464–⁠52–⁠3Frank Howard1462
19456–⁠3–⁠12–⁠1–⁠1Frank Howard1539
19444–⁠53–⁠1Frank Howard1430
19432–⁠62–⁠3Frank Howard1402
19423–⁠6–⁠12–⁠3–⁠1Frank Howard1467
19417–⁠25–⁠113Frank Howard1628
19406–⁠2–⁠14–⁠012Frank Howard1615
19399–⁠14–⁠012Jess Neely1677
19387–⁠1–⁠13–⁠0–⁠1Jess Neely1598
19374–⁠4–⁠12–⁠0–⁠1Jess Neely1509
19365–⁠53–⁠3Jess Neely1514
19356–⁠32–⁠1Jess Neely1549
19345–⁠42–⁠1Jess Neely1490
19333–⁠6–⁠21–⁠1Jess Neely1386
19323–⁠5–⁠10–⁠4Jess Neely1406
19311–⁠6–⁠21–⁠4Jess Neely1425
19308–⁠23–⁠2Josh Cody1597
19298–⁠33–⁠3Josh Cody1555
19288–⁠34–⁠2Josh Cody1553
19275–⁠3–⁠12–⁠2Josh Cody1425
19262–⁠71–⁠3Bud Saunders, Bob Williams1270
19251–⁠70–⁠4Bud Saunders1303
19242–⁠60–⁠3Bud Saunders1390
19235–⁠2–⁠11–⁠1–⁠1Bud Saunders1498
19225–⁠41–⁠2Edward Stewart1439
19211–⁠6–⁠21–⁠3–⁠2Edward Stewart1368
19204–⁠6–⁠12–⁠5Edward Donahue1450
19196–⁠2–⁠22–⁠2–⁠2Edward Donahue1566
19185–⁠22–⁠1Edward Donahue1530
19176–⁠24–⁠1Edward Donahue1543
19163–⁠61–⁠4Wayne Hart1433
19152–⁠4–⁠22–⁠2Bob Williams1528
19145–⁠3–⁠12–⁠2Bob Williams1586
19134–⁠42–⁠3Bob Williams1507
19124–⁠43–⁠2Frank Dobson1458
19113–⁠52–⁠3Frank Dobson1457
19104–⁠3–⁠12–⁠2–⁠1Frank Dobson1520
19096–⁠32–⁠1Bob Williams1511
19081–⁠60–⁠3John Stone1412
19074–⁠40–⁠3Frank Shaughnessy1497
19064–⁠0–⁠33–⁠0–⁠1Bob Williams1590
19053–⁠2–⁠13–⁠1–⁠1Eddie Cochems1560
19043–⁠3–⁠13–⁠2Shack Shealy1555
19034–⁠1–⁠12–⁠0John Heisman1645
19026–⁠15–⁠0John Heisman1642

Officially 812–⁠478–⁠44 since 1896 (per Wikipedia, as of 9/26/26); game by game here, 799–⁠477–⁠44 (−13 wins, −1 loss). Our file starts in 1902; the program began in 1896. Some games are missing from our source.

Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.