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1956 Clemson

7–⁠2–⁠2 (4–⁠0–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Frank Howard, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1956, game by game: won vs. Presbyterian 27–7; tied at No. 19 Florida 20–20; won at NC State 13–7; won at Wake Forest 17–0; won at South Carolina 7–0; won vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech 21–6; tied at Maryland 6–6; lost at No. 8 Miami 0–21; won vs. Virginia 7–0; won vs. Furman 28–7; lost vs. No. 19 Colorado 21–27+21−21Won 27–7 vs. Presbyterian+20PresbyterianTied 20–20 at No. 19 Florida0No. 19 FloridaWon 13–7 at NC State+6NC StateWon 17–0 at Wake Forest+17Wake ForestWon 7–0 at South Carolina+7South CarolinaWon 21–6 vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech+15No. 15 Virginia TechTied 6–6 at Maryland0MarylandLost 0–21 at No. 8 Miami-21No. 8 MiamiWon 7–0 vs. Virginia+7VirginiaWon 28–7 vs. Furman+21FurmanLost 21–27 vs. No. 19 Colorado-6No. 19 Colorado
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22vsPresbyterianW 27–⁠790%
Sep 29at19FloridaT 20–⁠2043%
Oct 6atNC StateW 13–⁠753%
Oct 13atWake ForestW 17–⁠051%
Oct 25atSouth CarolinaW 7–⁠054%
Nov 3vs15Virginia TechW 21–⁠657%
Nov 10atMarylandT 6–⁠662%
Nov 16at8MiamiL 0–⁠2136%
Nov 24vsVirginiaW 7–⁠088%
Dec 1vsFurmanW 28–⁠791%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs19ColoradoOrange BowlL 21–⁠2750%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Colorado 27–⁠21 in the Orange Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 46th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 15
  2. Wk 6: 20
  3. Wk 7: 13
  4. Wk 8: 11
  5. Wk 9: 13
  6. Final: 19

Atlantic Coast Conference champions4–⁠0–⁠1 in the conference

Record
7–⁠2–⁠2
Conference
4–⁠0–⁠1 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 11
Points
167–⁠101
Coach
Frank Howard
Elo
1599 +60 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
8.2 No. 37 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Charlie Bussey

Drafted in 1957

The 1957 draft
Rd 2Joel Wells BGreen Bay Packers
Rd 3Bill Hudson OTChicago Cardinals

All-ACC

3 first team, 1 second team

First team

  • John GrdijanOGAP-2; UP-1
  • Joel WellsBAP-1; UP-1
  • Charlie BusseyBAP-1; UP-2

Second team

  • Dick MarazaOTAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1956 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1956 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson4–⁠0–⁠17–⁠2–⁠219
Duke4–⁠15–⁠4–⁠1
South Carolina5–⁠27–⁠3
Maryland2–⁠2–⁠12–⁠7–⁠1
North Carolina2–⁠3–⁠12–⁠7–⁠1
NC State2–⁠43–⁠7
Wake Forest1–⁠5–⁠12–⁠5–⁠3
Virginia1–⁠43–⁠7

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