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1959 Clemson

9–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Frank Howard, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1959, game by game: won at No. 12 North Carolina 20–18; won at Virginia 47–0; lost at No. 7 Georgia Tech 6–16; won vs. NC State 23–0; won at South Carolina 27–0; won at Rice 19–0; won vs. Duke 6–0; lost vs. Maryland 25–28; won vs. Wake Forest 33–31; won at Furman 56–3; won vs. No. 7 TCU 23–7+53−10Won 20–18 at No. 12 North Carolina+2No. 12 North CarolinaWon 47–0 at Virginia+47VirginiaLost 6–16 at No. 7 Georgia Tech-10No. 7 Georgia TechWon 23–0 vs. NC State+23NC StateWon 27–0 at South Carolina+27South CarolinaWon 19–0 at Rice+19RiceWon 6–0 vs. Duke+6DukeLost 25–28 vs. Maryland-3MarylandWon 33–31 vs. Wake Forest+2Wake ForestWon 56–3 at Furman+53FurmanWon 23–7 vs. No. 7 TCU+16No. 7 TCU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19at12North CarolinaW 20–⁠1846%
Sep 26atVirginiaW 47–⁠075%
Oct 3at7Georgia TechL 6–⁠1649%
Oct 10vsNC StateW 23–⁠074%
Oct 22atSouth CarolinaW 27–⁠047%
Oct 31atRiceW 19–⁠062%
Nov 7vsDukeW 6–⁠073%
Nov 14vsMarylandL 25–⁠2882%
Nov 21vsWake ForestW 33–⁠3179%
Nov 28atFurmanW 56–⁠389%
Dec 19Bowls & playoffvs7TCUBluebonnet BowlW 23–⁠740%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat TCU 23–⁠7 in the Bluebonnet Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 18
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 5: 15
  5. Wk 6: 17
  6. Wk 7: 12
  7. Wk 8: 10
  8. Wk 9: 11
  9. Wk 10: 19
  10. Wk 11: 14
  11. Wk 12: 10
  12. Final: 11

Atlantic Coast Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Record
9–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 5
Points
285–⁠103
Coach
Frank Howard
Elo
1678 +110 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
14.5 No. 13 of 112 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Paul Snyder and Harvey White

Drafted in 1960

The 1960 draft
Rd 1Lou Cordileone DTNew York Giants
Rd 2Harold Olson OTChicago Cardinals

All-ACC

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Harold OlsonOTAP-2; UPI-2
  • Harvey WhiteBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Doug ClineBUPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1959 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1959 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson6–⁠19–⁠211
North Carolina5–⁠25–⁠5
Maryland4–⁠25–⁠5
Wake Forest4–⁠36–⁠4
South Carolina4–⁠36–⁠4
Duke2–⁠34–⁠6
NC State0–⁠61–⁠9
Virginia0–⁠50–⁠10

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