1971 Clemson

5–⁠6 (4–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Cecil Ingram.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1971, game by game: lost vs. Kentucky 10–13; lost vs. No. 14 Georgia 0–28; lost at Georgia Tech 14–24; won vs. No. 14 Duke 3–0; won at Virginia 32–15; lost at No. 5 Auburn 13–35; won vs. Wake Forest 10–9; lost at North Carolina 13–26; won vs. Maryland 20–14; lost vs. NC State 23–31; won at South Carolina 17–7+17−28Lost 10–13 vs. Kentucky-3KentuckyLost 0–28 vs. No. 14 Georgia-28No. 14 GeorgiaLost 14–24 at Georgia Tech-10Georgia TechWon 3–0 vs. No. 14 Duke+3No. 14 DukeWon 32–15 at Virginia+17VirginiaLost 13–35 at No. 5 Auburn-22No. 5 AuburnWon 10–9 vs. Wake Forest+1Wake ForestLost 13–26 at North Carolina-13North CarolinaWon 20–14 vs. Maryland+6MarylandLost 23–31 vs. NC State-8NC StateWon 17–7 at South Carolina+10South Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat South Carolina 17–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 109th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

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 1971.

Record
5–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠2 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
155–⁠202
Coach
Cecil Ingram
Elo
1429 +23 this season
SP+ rating
-2.7 No. 78 of 120; offense No. 98, defense No. 42
SRS
0.9 No. 63 of 128 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Larry Hefner and John McMakin

Drafted in 1972

The 1972 draft
Rd 3John McMakin TEPittsburgh Steelers

All-ACC

3 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1971 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1971 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Carolina6–⁠09–⁠3
Clemson4–⁠25–⁠6
Duke2–⁠36–⁠5
Wake Forest2–⁠36–⁠5
Virginia2–⁠33–⁠8
NC State2–⁠43–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠42–⁠9

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