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1981 Clemson

12–⁠0 (6–⁠0 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Danny Ford, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1981, game by game: won vs. Wofford 45–10; won at Tulane 13–5; won vs. No. 4 Georgia 13–3; won at Kentucky 21–3; won vs. Virginia 27–0; won at Duke 38–10; won vs. NC State 17–7; won vs. Wake Forest 82–24; won at No. 8 North Carolina 10–8; won vs. Maryland 21–7; won at South Carolina 29–13; won vs. No. 4 Nebraska 22–15+58Won 45–10 vs. Wofford+35WoffordWon 13–5 at Tulane+8TulaneWon 13–3 vs. No. 4 Georgia+10No. 4 GeorgiaWon 21–3 at Kentucky+18KentuckyWon 27–0 vs. Virginia+27VirginiaWon 38–10 at Duke+28DukeWon 17–7 vs. NC State+10NC StateWon 82–24 vs. Wake Forest+58Wake ForestWon 10–8 at No. 8 North Carolina+2No. 8 North CarolinaWon 21–7 vs. Maryland+14MarylandWon 29–13 at South Carolina+16South CarolinaWon 22–15 vs. No. 4 Nebraska+7No. 4 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsWoffordW 45–⁠1090%
Sep 12atTulaneW 13–⁠547%
Sep 19vs4GeorgiaW 13–⁠343%
Oct 3atKentuckyW 21–⁠362%
Oct 10vsVirginiaW 27–⁠084%
Oct 17atDukeW 38–⁠1065%
Oct 24vsNC StateW 17–⁠774%
Oct 31vsWake ForestW 82–⁠2483%
Nov 7at8North CarolinaW 10–⁠839%
Nov 14vsMarylandW 21–⁠777%
Nov 21atSouth CarolinaW 29–⁠1356%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs4NebraskaOrange BowlW 22–⁠1542%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nebraska 22–⁠15 in the Orange Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 19
  2. Wk 5: 14
  3. Wk 6: 9
  4. Wk 7: 6
  5. Wk 8: 4
  6. Wk 9: 3
  7. Wk 10: 2
  8. Wk 11: 2
  9. Wk 12: 2
  10. Wk 13: 2
  11. Wk 14: 1
  12. Final: 1

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 1981.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Atlantic Coast Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference

2 consensus All-AmericansJeff Davis, LB; Terry Kinard, DB

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearDanny Ford, coach

Record
12–⁠0
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
338–⁠105
Coach
Danny Ford
Elo
1749 +210 this season
SP+ rating
28.4 No. 3 of 132; offense No. 17, defense No. 1
SRS
25.2 No. 3 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Nelson Stokley
Captains
Jeff Davis, Lee Nanney and Perry Tuttle
Offense
Option
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 1Jeff Bryant DESeattle Seahawks
Rd 1Perry Tuttle WRBuffalo Bills
Rd 5Jeff Davis LBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 7Hollis Hall DBSan Diego Chargers

All-ACC

8 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1981 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1981 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson6–⁠012–⁠01
North Carolina5–⁠110–⁠29
Maryland4–⁠24–⁠6–⁠1
Duke3–⁠36–⁠5
NC State2–⁠44–⁠7
Wake Forest1–⁠54–⁠7
Virginia0–⁠61–⁠10

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