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1951 Clemson

7–⁠3 (3–⁠1 Southern Conference), coached by Frank Howard, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1951, game by game: won vs. Presbyterian 53–6; won at Rice 20–14; won at NC State 6–0; lost at No. 20 Pacific 7–21; lost at South Carolina 0–20; won vs. Wake Forest 21–6; won vs. Boston College 21–2; won at Furman 34–14; won vs. Auburn 34–0; lost vs. Miami 0–14+47−20Won 53–6 vs. Presbyterian+47PresbyterianWon 20–14 at Rice+6RiceWon 6–0 at NC State+6NC StateLost 7–21 at No. 20 Pacific-14No. 20 PacificLost 0–20 at South Carolina-20South CarolinaWon 21–6 vs. Wake Forest+15Wake ForestWon 21–2 vs. Boston College+19Boston CollegeWon 34–14 at Furman+20FurmanWon 34–0 vs. Auburn+34AuburnLost 0–14 vs. Miami-14Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22vsPresbyterianW 53–⁠696%
Sep 29atRiceW 20–⁠1447%
Oct 6atNC StateW 6–⁠067%
Oct 13at20PacificL 7–⁠2151%
Oct 25atSouth CarolinaL 0–⁠2063%
Nov 3vsWake ForestW 21–⁠644%
Nov 10vsBoston CollegeW 21–⁠286%
Nov 17atFurmanW 34–⁠1477%
Nov 24vsAuburnW 34–⁠083%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsMiamiGator BowlL 0–⁠1456%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Miami 14–⁠0 in the Gator Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; 5th in the Southern Conference.

In program history: The 50th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 18
  2. Wk 3: 16
  3. Final: 19
Record
7–⁠3
Conference
3–⁠1 5th in Southern Conference
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 16
Points
196–⁠97
Coach
Frank Howard
Elo
1592 +0 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
6.8 No. 40 of 116 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Bob Patton

Drafted in 1952

The 1952 draft
Rd 5Bob Patton OTNew York Giants

All-Southern Conference

2 first team

First team

  • Billy HairBAP-2; UP-1
  • Glenn SmithEAP-1; UP-1

From Wikipedia’s 1951 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1951 Southern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Maryland5–⁠010–⁠03
VMI5–⁠07–⁠3
William & Mary5–⁠17–⁠3
Washington and Lee5–⁠16–⁠4
Clemson3–⁠17–⁠319
Duke4–⁠25–⁠4–⁠1
Wake Forest5–⁠36–⁠4
South Carolina5–⁠35–⁠4
George Washington2–⁠3–⁠12–⁠6–⁠1
West Virginia2–⁠35–⁠5
North Carolina2–⁠32–⁠8
NC State2–⁠63–⁠7
Richmond2–⁠63–⁠8
The Citadel1–⁠34–⁠6
Furman1–⁠4–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Davidson1–⁠51–⁠8
Virginia Tech1–⁠72–⁠8

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