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1979 Clemson

8–⁠4 (4–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Danny Ford.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1979, game by game: won vs. Furman 21–0; lost vs. Maryland 0–19; won vs. Georgia 12–7; won vs. Virginia 17–7; won at Virginia Tech 21–0; won at Duke 28–10; lost vs. NC State 13–16; won vs. No. 14 Wake Forest 31–0; won at North Carolina 19–10; won at Notre Dame 16–10; lost at No. 19 South Carolina 9–13; lost vs. No. 19 Baylor 18–24+31−19Won 21–0 vs. Furman+21FurmanLost 0–19 vs. Maryland-19MarylandWon 12–7 vs. Georgia+5GeorgiaWon 17–7 vs. Virginia+10VirginiaWon 21–0 at Virginia Tech+21Virginia TechWon 28–10 at Duke+18DukeLost 13–16 vs. NC State-3NC StateWon 31–0 vs. No. 14 Wake Forest+31No. 14 Wake ForestWon 19–10 at North Carolina+9North CarolinaWon 16–10 at Notre Dame+6Notre DameLost 9–13 at No. 19 South Carolina-4No. 19 South CarolinaLost 18–24 vs. No. 19 Baylor-6No. 19 Baylor
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsFurmanW 21–⁠074%
Sep 15vsMarylandL 0–⁠1965%
Sep 22vsGeorgiaW 12–⁠765%
Oct 6vsVirginiaW 17–⁠779%
Oct 13atVirginia TechW 21–⁠066%
Oct 20atDukeW 28–⁠1069%
Oct 27vsNC StateL 13–⁠1668%
Nov 3vs14Wake ForestW 31–⁠075%
Nov 10atNorth CarolinaW 19–⁠1051%
Nov 17atNotre DameW 16–⁠1048%
Nov 24at19South CarolinaL 9–⁠1359%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs19BaylorPeach BowlL 18–⁠2465%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Baylor 24–⁠18 in the Peach Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 18
  2. Wk 11: 14
  3. Wk 12: 13
  4. Wk 13: 18
  5. Wk 14: 18

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 1979.

Consensus All-AmericanJim Stuckey, DT

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 13
Points
205–⁠116
Coach
Danny Ford
Elo
1661 +24 this season
SP+ rating
19.9 No. 17 of 135; offense No. 68, defense No. 1
SRS
14.8 No. 19 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jimmye Laycock
Defensive coordinator
Mickey Andrews
Captains
Bubba Brown and Billy Lott

Drafted in 1980

The 1980 draft
Rd 1Jim Stuckey DESan Francisco 49ers
Rd 7Lester Brown RBDallas Cowboys

All-ACC

6 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1979 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1979 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
NC State5–⁠17–⁠4
Clemson4–⁠28–⁠4
Maryland4–⁠27–⁠4
Wake Forest3–⁠28–⁠4
North Carolina3–⁠38–⁠3–⁠115
Virginia1–⁠46–⁠5
Duke0–⁠62–⁠8–⁠1

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