CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1939 Clemson

9–⁠1 (4–⁠0 Southern Conference), coached by Jess Neely, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Clemson, 1939
Photo: Taps staff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1939, game by game: won vs. Presbyterian 18–0; lost at Tulane 6–7; won vs. NC State 25–6; won at South Carolina 27–0; won at Navy 15–7; won at George Washington 13–6; won vs. Wake Forest 20–7; won at Rhodes 21–6; won at Furman 14–3; won vs. No. 14 Boston College 6–3+27−1Won 18–0 vs. Presbyterian+18PresbyterianLost 6–7 at Tulane-1TulaneWon 25–6 vs. NC State+19NC StateWon 27–0 at South Carolina+27South CarolinaWon 15–7 at Navy+8NavyWon 13–6 at George Washington+7George Washingt…Won 20–7 vs. Wake Forest+13Wake ForestWon 21–6 at Rhodes+15RhodesWon 14–3 at Furman+11FurmanWon 6–3 vs. No. 14 Boston College+3No. 14 Boston College
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 23vsPresbyterianW 18–⁠095%
Sep 30atTulaneL 6–⁠739%
Oct 7vsNC StateW 25–⁠666%
Oct 19atSouth CarolinaW 27–⁠066%
Oct 28atNavyW 15–⁠753%
Nov 3atGeorge WashingtonW 13–⁠669%
Nov 11vsWake ForestW 20–⁠773%
Nov 18atRhodesW 21–⁠686%
Nov 25atFurmanW 14–⁠380%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs14Boston CollegeCotton BowlW 6–⁠357%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Boston College 6–⁠3 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Southern Conference.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 16
  2. Wk 6: 15
  3. Wk 7: 14
  4. Wk 8: 15
  5. Final: 12

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1939.

Record
9–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠0 shared first in Southern Conference
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 12
Points
165–⁠45
Coach
Jess Neely
Elo
1677 +112 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
15.4 No. 10 of 124 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Joe Payne

Drafted in 1940

The 1940 draft
Rd 1Banks McFadden RBBrooklyn Dodgers

All-Southern Conference

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Shad BryantBUP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1939 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1939 Southern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Duke5–⁠08–⁠18
Clemson4–⁠09–⁠112
North Carolina5–⁠18–⁠1–⁠1
William & Mary2–⁠0–⁠16–⁠2–⁠1
Richmond3–⁠1–⁠17–⁠1–⁠2
VMI3–⁠1–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
Wake Forest3–⁠37–⁠3
Furman3–⁠35–⁠4
NC State2–⁠42–⁠8
Washington and Lee1–⁠23–⁠4–⁠1
Virginia Tech1–⁠4–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
South Carolina1–⁠33–⁠6–⁠1
Davidson1–⁠72–⁠7
The Citadel0–⁠43–⁠8
Maryland0–⁠12–⁠7

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.